[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42251-42253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20152]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement on Transit 
Improvements Between Denver and Golden, CO

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is issuing this 
notice to advise agencies and the public that, in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act, FTA and the Denver Regional 
Transportation District (RTD), in cooperation with the Denver Regional 
Council of Governments, will prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) to evaluate transit improvements, including a potential light 
rail transit (LRT) line, in the West Corridor from Denver to Lakewood 
and Golden in Jefferson County, Colorado.

DATES: Three public scoping meetings, one meeting each in Denver, 
Lakewood, and Golden, Colorado, will be held in September 2001. Details 
as to the specific locations, dates, and times of the public scoping 
meetings will be advertised in local newspapers and other media. An 
interagency scoping meeting will be held on August 30, 2001 at 9 a.m. 
in the RTD Conference Room. See ADDRESSES below. Written comments on 
the scope of the EIS, including the alternatives to be considered and 
the impacts to be studied, may be sent to David Hollis, Project 
Manager, Regional Transportation District by October 14, 2001. See 
ADDRESSES below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to 
David Hollis, Project Manager, Regional Transportation District, 
Systems Planning Division, Planning and Development Department, 1600 
Blake Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-1399. Telephone: 303-299-2404; 
fax: 303-299-2425. The interagency scoping meeting on August 30, 2001 
at 9 a.m.

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will be in the RTD Conference Room, Alamo Building, Suite 560, 1401 
Seventeenth Street, Denver, Colorado 80202. All scoping meetings will 
be held in wheelchair-accessible locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Beckhouse, Community 
Planner, Federal Transit Administration, (303) 844-3242.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Scoping

    FTA and RTD will establish the scope of the EIS for the West 
Corridor after evaluating the results of the Major Investment Study 
(MIS) for the corridor completed in July 1997, after consulting with 
Federal, State, and local resource and regulatory agencies through 
meetings and correspondence, and after hearing from the general public. 
Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
participate in defining the alternatives to be evaluated and related 
issues of concern. A summary of the MIS and its results is available 
for public review at the following public libraries: Denver Central 
Library (10 West 14th Avenue, Denver), Lakewood Library (10200 West 
20th Avenue, Lakewood), and Golden Library (1019 10th Street, Golden). 
The MIS summary is will also be available on the project website at 
www.rtdwestcorridor.com after September 1, 2001, or by contacting David 
Hollis, the RTD project manager, at the address and phone numbers given 
above under ADDRESSES. Also contact Mr. Hollis to be placed on the 
project mailing list and receive information about the public scoping 
meetings and the project newsletter. Written comments on the 
alternatives and potential impacts to be considered should be sent to 
David Hollis of RTD.

II. Description of Corridor and Transportation Needs

    Federal transit law requires that projects proposed for FTA funding 
come from a long range metropolitan transportation plan that is 
fiscally constrained and conforms to State air quality plans. The 
Denver Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) identifies additional 
capacity for east-west travel in the West Corridor as one of the most 
needed projects that is affordable by the region over the next 20 
years. Because the Denver region is an air quality non-attainment area 
for carbon monoxide and small particulate matter (PM-10), the RTP must 
consider air quality in its prioritization of transportation projects 
for the region. The RTP identifies the need for transit improvements in 
the West Corridor to address existing as well as projected congestion 
and to improve air quality, or at least to not degrade it any further. 
The West Corridor Transit Project is included in the Transportation 
Improvement Plan (TIP).

III. Proposed Action

    The EIS scoping process will include an evaluation of the results 
of the MIS for the West Corridor completed in July 1997, which looked 
at several alternatives to handle the travel demand in the West 
Corridor, within the boundaries of Alameda Avenue and 26th Avenue and 
the city of Golden and the Central Business District (CBD) of Denver. 
The locally preferred alternative (LPA) of the MIS was LRT on new 
double tracks from the CBD along the existing right-of-way of the 
former Associated Railroad and Denver Interurban Transit line. This 
right-of-way runs west from Denver to Lakewood generally between 12th 
and 13th Avenues to the Cold Spring Park-n-Ride at 6th Avenue and 
Simms. The LRT line would continue west of the Cold Spring Park-n-Ride 
to a location near the junction of US 6 and US 40. The LRT line will 
also have to cross the South Platte River to connect with the Central 
Platte Valley Corridor LRT line currently under construction. Roadway, 
pedestrian and bike improvements were included in the LPA, with 
improved passenger waiting areas at bus stops, a multiple-use trail, 
and sidewalk improvements. Modifications to bus service in the West 
Corridor were also proposed in the LPA, including new circulator and 
feeder routes to connect residential and employment areas of the 
corridor with the LRT system. Transit service to and from the CBD and 
the West Corridor neighborhoods would be improved during peak travel 
periods. These recommendations were approved by Denver Regional Council 
of Governments and included in the fiscally constrained RTP and the 
MetroVision 2020 master plan.

IV. Public Involvement

    A comprehensive public involvement program has been developed. The 
program includes a project web site (www.rtdwestcorridor.com); outreach 
to local and county officials and community and civic groups; a public 
scoping process to define the issues of concern among all parties 
interested in the project; a public hearing on release of the draft 
environmental impact statement (DEIS); establishment of walk-in project 
offices in the corridor; and development and distribution of project 
newsletters.

V. Alternatives

    FTA and RTD propose that the EIS evaluate the following three 
alternatives. The no-action alternative is the option of implementing 
nothing more than the existing and committed road and transit systems. 
The TSM alternative includes various transportation improvements beyond 
the existing and committed projects plus enhanced bus transit service 
in the West Corridor. The MIS LPA will be evaluated as the proposed 
project. This alternative includes an LRT line extending from the 
Central Platte Valley Corridor across the South Platte River west along 
the existing Associated Railroad right-of-way to the Cold Spring Park-
n-Ride facility and extending further west along a new right-of-way to 
a location near the junction of US 6 and US 40. The EIS will also 
consider any additional reasonable alternatives identified during 
scoping that provide similar transportation benefits while reducing or 
avoiding adverse impacts.

VI. Probable Effects and Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The FTA and RTD will evaluate all environmental, social, and 
economic impacts of the alternatives analyzed in the EIS. The impact 
areas to be addressed include land use; visual/aesthetic values; 
ecosystems; mineral resources; cultural and historical resources; water 
quality, floodplains, and drainage; air quality; noise and vibration; 
traffic and parking; hazardous materials; utilities; energy use and 
conservation; public safety and security; and community and economic 
impacts. The EIS will evaluate potential environmental justice issues 
as well as secondary, cumulative, and construction-related impacts. The 
need for right-of-way acquisitions and relocations will also be 
evaluated. Alternative alignments, designs, station locations, and 
other measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts will be 
developed and evaluated.

VII. FTA Procedures

    In accordance with FTA policy, all Federal laws, regulations, and 
executive orders affecting project development, including but not 
limited to the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality and 
FTA implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR part 771), 
the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 
Executive Order 12898 regarding environmental justice, the National 
Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Section

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4(f) of the DOT Act, will be addressed to the maximum extent 
practicable during the NEPA process. In addition, RTD seeks Sec. 5309 
New Starts funding for the project and will therefore be subject to the 
FTA New Starts regulation (49 CFR part 611). This New Starts regulation 
requires the submission of certain specified information to FTA to 
support an RTD request to initiate preliminary engineering, which is 
normally done in conjunction with the NEPA process.

    Dated: August 7, 2001.
Lee O. Waddleton,
FTA Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-20152 Filed 8-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P