[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 186 (Monday, September 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59323-59325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24103]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Early Scoping for the Alternatives Analysis of the North Corridor
Transit Project in Metropolitan Seattle
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Early Scoping Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Central Puget
Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) issue this early
scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public that they intend
to explore alternatives for improving transit service between Northgate
in Seattle and Lynnwood, in King and Snohomish counties, Washington.
The early scoping is being conducted within the context of the Council
on Environmental Quality's regulations for complying with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is part of a planning Alternatives
Analysis (AA) required by Title 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) 5309 to
analyze the potential for a fixed guideway alternative to be
implemented as an FTA-assisted major capital transit investment. The AA
process results in the selection or confirmation of a locally preferred
alternative which is the proposed action. The early scoping notice is
intended to invite public comments on the scope of the AA study,
including the transportation problems to be addressed, a range of
alternatives, the transportation and community impacts and benefits to
be considered, the capital and operating costs, the financial plans and
other factors that the public and agencies believe should be considered
in analyzing alternatives. If preparation of an environmental impact
statement (EIS) is warranted following completion of the planning AA, a
notice of intent to prepare an EIS will be published. This early
scoping process is intended to support the future NEPA scoping process.
Public meetings and the range of alternatives currently identified to
address the project's purpose are described below.
DATES: Three public scoping meetings and one agency scoping meeting to
accept comments will be held on the following dates and locations:
Public Meetings
North Seattle: October 7, 2010. Ingraham High School, 1819 N. 135th
St., Seattle, 98133.
Lynnwood: October 12, 2010. Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th
St., SW., Lynnwood, 98036.
[[Page 59324]]
Shoreline: October 14, 2010. Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st
Ave., NE., Shoreline, 98155.
All public meetings will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Agency Meeting
Seattle: October 13, 2010, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sound Transit offices,
401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, 98104.
Invitations to the interagency scoping meeting will be sent to
appropriate Federal, state, local, and tribal governmental units.
In addition to the supplemental information provided below,
information on the AA will be provided at the public meetings, which
will also provide opportunities for spoken or written comments.
Information is also available on Sound Transit's Web site at: http://www.soundtransit.org/NorthHCT. Written scoping comments are requested
by October 25, 2010 and can be sent or e-mailed to the address below,
submitted at the public meetings, or provided via the online comment
form available at http://www.soundtransit.org/NorthHCT.
ADDRESSES: Roger Iwata, North Corridor Project, Sound Transit, 401 S.
Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104-2826, or by e-mail to
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Witmer, Community Planner,
Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Avenue, Suite 3142, Seattle, WA
98174; Phone: (206) 220-7954; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Early Scoping
As defined by law, alternatives analysis (AA) is the first step of
the New Starts project development process. AA is the local forum for
evaluating the costs, benefits, and impacts of a range of
transportation alternatives designed to address mobility problems and
other locally-identified objectives in a defined transportation
corridor, and for determining which particular investment strategy
should be advanced for more focused study and development. For AA
studies which may result in the local selection of a project eligible
for FTA New Starts or Small Starts funding, the AA further serves as
the process for development of the technical information necessary to
support a candidate project's entry into New Starts preliminary
engineering. Early scoping for the North Corridor project is being
conducted in support of NEPA requirements and in accordance with the
Council on Environmental Quality's regulations and guidance for
implementing NEPA. See 40 CFR 1501.2 through 8, which encourage federal
agencies to initiate NEPA early in their planning processes. Early
scoping allows the scoping process to begin as soon as there is enough
information to describe the proposal so that the public and relevant
agencies can participate effectively. This is particularly useful in
situations when a proposed action involves a broadly defined corridor
with an array of modal and alignment alternatives under consideration.
This early scoping notice is intended to generate public comments
on the scope of the planning AA, including the purpose and need for the
project, a range of alternatives, the financial plans, and the
environmental, transportation and community impacts and benefits to be
considered.
The North Corridor and the Regional Transit System
The North Corridor is approximately eight to nine miles long
depending on routing. Starting at Northgate in north Seattle and ending
in Lynnwood, the corridor generally follows Interstate 5 (I-5), which
is the major north-south route through Washington State and serves a
large commuter market traveling between Snohomish and King Counties and
the City of Seattle. The corridor is within a geographically
constrained urban area that lies between the Puget Sound to the west
and Lake Washington to the east, which limits transportation options.
This is one of the densest urban areas in the Pacific Northwest and
comprises one of the region's most productive markets for transit.
Sound Move, the first phase of regional transit investments, was
approved and funded by voters in 1996. Sound Transit is now completing
the development of Sound Move, which includes light rail, commuter rail
and regional express bus infrastructure and service, including the
Central Link light rail system between Northgate, the University of
Washington, downtown Seattle, Tukwila and SeaTac. In 2009, Sound
Transit began light rail operations between downtown Seattle and
SeaTac. Link light rail north from downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill and
the University of Washington is now under construction and is scheduled
to open in 2016. The final section of Central Link light rail from the
University of Washington to Northgate is about to enter final design
with operation to begin in 2020.
In 2004, Sound Transit initiated planning for the second phase of
investment to follow Sound Move. This work included updating Sound
Transit's Long-Range Plan and associated environmental review.
Following several years of system planning work to detail, evaluate,
and prioritize the next round of regional transit system expansion,
voters in 2008 authorized funding for the extension of the regional
light rail system in the North Corridor as part of the Sound Transit 2
(ST2) Plan. The ST2 Plan also includes an East Link light rail line
from downtown Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond to the east, and from
SeaTac to Federal Way to the south.
Transportation Purpose of the North Corridor Project
The purpose of the project is to improve transit service from
Seattle north into Snohomish County by:
(1) Providing reliable, rapid, and efficient two-way, all-day
transit service of sufficient capacity to meet the existing and
projected demand between the communities and activity centers located
in the North Corridor and the other urban centers in the central Puget
Sound area by providing a mobility alternative to travel on congested
roadways and improved connections to the regional multimodal
transportation system;
(2) Supporting North Corridor communities' and the region's land
use, transportation and economic development vision, which promotes the
well-being of people and communities, ensures economic vitality and
preserves a healthy environment; and
(3) Supporting the long-range vision, goals, and objectives for
transit service established by Sound Transit's Long-Range Plan for high
quality regional transit service connecting major activity centers in
King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
The project is needed to:
Meet the rapidly growing transportation needs of the
corridor and the region's future residents and workers by increasing
mobility, access, and transportation capacity to and from regional
growth and activity centers in the North Corridor and the rest of the
region, as called for in the region's adopted plans, including the
Puget Sound Regional Council's VISION 2040 and Transportation 2040, as
well as related county and city comprehensive plans.
Address the problems of increasing and unreliable travel
times for transit users in the North Corridor, who are now dependent on
the corridor's highly congested roadway and high occupancy vehicle
systems.
Address overcrowding facing current and future North
Corridor transit riders due to insufficient
[[Page 59325]]
capacity of the infrastructure that supports the current transit
system.
Provide an alternative to automobile trips on I-5 and SR
99, the two primary highways serving the corridor, which are unreliable
and over capacity throughout significant portions of the day.
Implement the long-range vision for regional transit
service established by Sound Transit's Long Range Plan, with a transit
investment that supports economic vitality, preserves the environment,
preserves communities, and allows for the further extension of regional
transit north to Everett.
Ensure long-term regional mobility, multimodal
connectivity, and convenience for North Corridor citizens and
communities, including travel-disadvantaged residents and low income
and minority populations.
Provide the transit infrastructure needed to support the
development of Northgate and Lynnwood as designated regional growth
centers providing housing, employment, public services, and multimodal
transportation connections.
Help support the environmental and sustainability goals of
the state and region, including state regulations setting goals for
reducing annual per capita vehicle miles traveled by 2050, in
accordance with RCW 47.01.440, and the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions (Limiting Green House Gas Emissions, RCW Chapter 702.35).
Alternatives
In developing the ST2 Plan, Sound Transit defined a light rail
alignment that helped establish the ridership potential and costs for
the transit improvements in the North Corridor. The alignment was
assumed to be entirely elevated primarily along I-5. The project
elements included a light rail guideway, track, and systems extending
approximately 8.5 miles north from Northgate Station to Lynnwood
Transit Center. After leaving Northgate Station, the alignment followed
the east side of I-5 to about 48th Avenue W. in Snohomish County and
then crossed to the west side of I-5 to enter Lynnwood Transit Center.
Four new stations were anticipated at NE. 145th Street, NE. 185th
Street, SW., 236th Street, and the Lynnwood Transit Center (terminal
station), all sized to accommodate 4-car trains. Park-and-ride
structures of 500 stalls each would be provided at NE 145th Street,
NE., 185th Street, and Lynnwood Transit Center.
As part of the AA and in accordance with FTA guidance for New Start
projects, Sound Transit will explore alternative mode, alignment,
station, and design configurations for improved transit in the North
Corridor. All alternatives will be compared to a ``No-Build''
alternative, which represents the future transportation system through
the year 2030 without North Corridor transit improvements, and a
Transportation Systems Management (TSM) alternative, which will examine
methods for improving transit in the North Corridor without a new fixed
guideway. Potential elements of a TSM alternative could include more
frequent bus service, new or expanded park-and-ride capacity, or
freeway or arterial transit priority improvements.
Sound Transit is inviting comments on the alternative transit
modes, alignments, station locations, and design configurations to be
studied, as well as comment on proposed evaluation measures to be used
to compare alternatives. Routes that may be considered follow portions
of State Route 99, the Interurban Trail, Interstate 5 and 15th Avenue
NE. The definition of these alternatives will reflect a range of high
and low cost capital improvements, including non-guideway options which
can serve as a ``baseline'' for measuring the merits of higher level
investments. Measures for evaluating the relative merits of
alternatives will be identified, as will technical methodologies for
generating the information used to support such measures; these will
typically include disciplines such as travel forecasting, capital and
operations and maintenance costing, and environmental and land use
analyses. Finally, costs, benefits, and impacts of each alternative are
developed and evaluated, funding strategies are analyzed, and a locally
preferred alternative (LPA) is affirmed to be advanced for further
development.
At the conclusion of the AA process, Sound Transit and the FTA
anticipate narrowing the range of alternatives for further evaluation
in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS), if warranted,
potentially including identification of a locally preferred
alternative. If the resulting range of alternatives involves the
potential for significant environmental impacts requiring an EIS, a
Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS will be published in the Federal
Register, and public and agency comment on the scope of the EIS will be
invited and considered at that time.
Issued on: September 17, 2010.
Linda Gehrke,
Deputy Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2010-24103 Filed 9-24-10; 8:45 am]
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