[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48159-48160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23255]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement on the Urban Ring Project Phase 
II, Located in Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge and 
Brookline, Massachusetts

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Massachusetts 
Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intend to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for Phase II of the Urban Ring Project located 
in Boston and adjacent communities. The EIS will be undertaken in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The MBTA 
will ensure that the EIS also satisfies the requirements of the 
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).
    The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives: a No-Build 
alternative; Transportation System Management alternative defined as 
low cost, operationally oriented improvements to address the 
transportation problems in the corridor; and a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) 
system along existing roadway rights-of-way and other rights-of-way 
owned by the MBTA and local jurisdictions. Scoping will be accomplished 
through meetings and correspondence with interested persons, 
organizations, the general public, Federal, State and local agencies.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives 
and impacts to be considered should be sent to the MBTA by October 30, 
2001. See ADDRESSES below. Scoping Meeting: A joint FTA and MBTA public 
scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 3, 2001, from 4 p.m. 
to 7 p.m., Massachusetts Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Second 
Floor, Conference Rooms 2 and 3, Boston, MA 02116. People with special 
needs should contact Claire Barrett by calling (617) 492-4996 for 
information and arrangements. The building is accessible to people with 
disabilities. It is located near MBTA Bus Routes #43 and #55, the 
Boylston Station stop on the Green Line, and the New England Medical 
Center stop on the Orange Line. Copies of the Expanded Environmental 
Notification Form (ENF), including the Executive Summary of the Major 
Investment Study (MIS) will be available at the meeting. A presentation 
of the project will be made and comments solicited. See ADDRESSES 
below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the analysis and impacts to 
be considered should be sent to Mr. Peter C. Calcaterra, Project 
Manager, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, 10 Park Plaza, 
Room 5750, Boston, MA 02116. A scoping meeting will be held at the 
following location: Massachusetts Transportation Building, Conference 
Rooms 2 and 3, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts.
    See DATES above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard H. Doyle, Regional 
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration Region 1, 55 Broadway, 
Cambridge, MA 02142, Telephone: (617) 494-2055.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    The FTA and the MBTA invite interested individuals, organizations 
and federal, state, and local agencies to participate in: defining the 
options to be evaluated in the EIS for Phase 2 of the Urban Ring 
Project; identifying the social, economic and environmental impacts to 
be evaluated; and suggesting alternative options that are less costly 
or have fewer environmental impacts while achieving similar 
transportation objectives. An Expanded Environmental Notification Form 
(ENF) dated July 26, 2001 prepared in accordance with the provisions of 
the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act 301 CMR 11.00 is being 
circulated to all Federal, state, and local agencies having 
jurisdiction in the Project. Other interested parties may request this 
document by contacting Fran Dowling at (978) 371-4221 or by email to 
[email protected]

II. Description of the Study Area and Transportation Needs

    The Urban Ring Project is an initiative of the MBTA to improve the 
regional transportation system in Greater Boston. The roughly circular 
Urban Ring Corridor (hereafter known as the Corridor) includes portions 
of Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge, Brookline and Boston. 
Approximately 15 miles long and one mile wide, the Corridor is growing 
faster than the regional average and will contain over 314,000 
residents and over 360,000 jobs by the year 2025.
    The Corridor has been the subject of many past transportation 
studies that have focused on several critical transportation needs. 
These studies, which span nearly 40 years, have identified solutions 
ranging from a highway to a new circumferential rail transit line and 
new bus routes augmented by low-cost traffic engineering improvements.
    Every MBTA commuter rail, heavy and light rail transit line, the 
Silver Line (currently under construction) as well as over half of all 
MBTA bus routes, currently cross the Corridor, yet directness of 
transit travel along the Corridor today remains poor. Transit trips to 
and from the Corridor require twice as many transfers as the average 
for the metropolitan region, and transit trips travel at an average 
speed of less than 8 miles per hour compared to a regional average of 
over 15 miles per hour. This poor performance is largely due to the 
indirect routing that transit travelers must currently use for cross-
town trips, compounded by inadequate connections with the radial 
transit and commuter rail system.
    To date, improvements have been limited and no comprehensive 
program to address these mobility problems has been implemented. As 
summarized below, the project is planned to connect the existing radial 
transit lines with a multi-modal circumferential transit system to 
facilitate travel and help to

[[Page 48160]]

relieve existing congestion, and to help reduce trip times and 
frustration for travelers.

III. Alternatives

    To address these needs, the MIS developed alternatives ranging from 
low-cost conventional buses to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), light and heavy 
rail systems and various combinations of each. Each alternative was 
evaluated to identify benefits, costs and potential environmental 
issues. A community-based planning process was used throughout the 
study, including extensive participation from citizen, business and 
environmental groups, and municipalities, as well as representatives 
from many of the areas largest educational and medical institutions. 
The extensive public involvement program included workshops, outreach 
briefings and general public meetings with a working committee and its 
subcommittees, providing input and guidance throughout the process.
    Though this public process, the range of alternatives was steadily 
reduced from fifteen down to three. All three alternatives consist of 
Transportation System Management (TSM) measures, BRT service, 
supporting elements such as new commuter rail stops at Urban Ring 
interfaces, and rail service. They differ in the type of rail service. 
Alternatives A1 and B include Light Rail while Alternative A2 utilizes 
Heavy Rail. A multi-phase implementation concept and schedule was 
developed where each phase builds upon the previous one until all the 
components of the alternatives are in place.

    Phase I: TSM
    Phase II: TSM + BRT and supporting elements
    Phase III: TSM + BRT and supporting elements + Rail Transit

    The phased approach enables tangible service improvements to occur 
sooner and enables the level of investment and service to increase with 
demand and available levels of funding. In Phase I, Transportation 
System Management (TSM or Bus Optimization) elements not requiring 
major new construction are proposed. In Phase III, the rail technology 
and alignment will be determined during a subsequent environmental 
process. The subject of this EIS, and the focus of the scheduled 
scoping session, will be the BRT and supporting commuter rail 
connections proposed in Phase II of the Project.
    For Phase II of the Urban Ring Project three alternatives were 
examined during the MIS. These alternatives will be examined in greater 
detail during the EIS as follows:
    No-Build Alternative: Consists of the transportation network 
contained in the Regional Transportation Plan for the year 2010 in the 
absence of any other transportation improvements in the study corridor; 
TSM Alternative: Consists of continued operation of the proposed Phase 
I TSM bus routes within the 2010 network with no other transportation 
improvements in the study corridor; and BRT Alternative: Consists of 
the seven proposed BRT routes plus the supporting elements and 
continued operation of the non-redundant Phase I bus routes. A more 
detailed description of the BRT Alternative follows.
    For Phase II, a fleet of low emission, low-floor, 60-foot 
articulated BRT vehicles would be purchased and additional BRT vehicle 
maintenance facility capacity provided. The Phase II BRT routes and 
vehicle maintenance facilities are planned for implementation in 
coordination with the MBTA Silver Line service and facilities that will 
be operational at that time. The TSM bus routes from Phase I would 
continue where not redundant to the BRT service. The BRT routes would 
operate at frequencies comparable to existing transit lines. During 
Phase II the environmental filings would be made to select the 
subsequent rail system to be added in Phase III.
    Phase II would include segments of exclusive busway, Intelligent 
Transportation Systems features, and supporting elements to improve 
connections with radial transit and commuter rail lines. Some of the 
BRT routes in Phase II would be new, and other are modified or 
converted versions of the Phase I bus routes. A total of seven BRT 
routes are proposed in Phase II.

Supporting Elements: New or Expanded Commuter Retail Stations

    Downtown Chelsea: Expand and improve existing station on 
Newburyport/Rockport Line.
    Sullivan Square: New station stop near junction of Newburyport/
Rockport and Haverhill Lines.
    Gilman Square: New station stop on the Lowell Line.
    Union Square: New station stop on the Fitchburg Line.
    Yawkey: Expand and improve existing station on the Framingham/
Worcester Line.
    Ruggles: Expanded stop with platforms on both sides of Northeast 
Corridor.
    Uphams Corner: Improved stop on the Fairmont Line.

IV. Probable Effects

    The MBTA will consider probable effects and potentially significant 
impacts to social, economic and environmental factors associated with 
the Phase II alternatives under evaluation in the EIS. Potential 
environmental issues to be addressed will include: land use, historic 
and archeological resources, traffic and parking, noise and vibration, 
environmental justice, regulatory floodway/floodplain encroachments, 
coordination with transportation and economic development projects, and 
construction impacts. Other issues to be addressed in the EIS include: 
natural areas, ecosystems, rare and endangered species, water 
resources, air/surface water and groundwater quality, energy, 
potentially contaminated sites, displacements and relocations, and 
parklands. The potential impacts will be evaluated for both the 
construction period and long operations period of each alternative 
considered. In addition, the cumulative effects of the proposed project 
alternatives will be identified. Measures to avoid or mitigate adverse 
impacts will be developed.

V. FTA Procedures

    A Draft EIS will be prepared to document the evaluation of the 
social, economic and environmental impacts of the alternatives. Upon 
completion, the Draft EIS will be available for public and agency 
review and comment. A public hearing on the Draft EIS will be held 
within the study area. On the basis of the Draft EIS and the public and 
agency comments received, a locally preferred alternative will be 
selected and described in full detail in the Final EIS.

    Issued: September 13, 2001.
Richard H. Doyle,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-23255 Filed 9-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-M