[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49943-49944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18486]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Addendum to Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for 
a Proposed Transit Improvement Project in Branson, MO

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

ACTION: Notice of revised public meeting date supporting the notice of 
intent to prepare an environmental impact statement

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SUMMARY: FTA is issuing this notice to advise the public and agencies 
that the open-house public scoping meeting for the Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on a proposed transit improvement project in Branson, 
Missouri has been rescheduled.

DATES: Public Scoping Meeting: A public open-house meeting is scheduled 
from 4 to 7 pm on Monday, August 30, 2004, at the Branson City Hall 
Municipal Courtroom (110 West Maddux Street, Branson, MO) in lieu of 
the originally scheduled June 29 open-house meeting. (The new meeting 
date will be advertised locally.) Oral and written comments may be made 
at this session. Project staff from the City of Branson will be 
available for informational discussion and to answer questions. The 
following information will be presented at the Open-house meeting: The 
study-area boundary; the study schedule; the public involvement plan; 
the problem statement; the project purpose and need; the study goals 
and objectives; effectiveness measures, as well as the alternatives 
currently proposed to be considered in the study. Input will be 
solicited to focus the environmental investigations. The meeting 
location is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Individuals 
with special needs should contact Cheryl Ford, Engineering Department; 
City of Branson, Missouri at (417) 337-8559. Comment Due Date: Written 
comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to the Branson City 
Engineer as indicated in ADDRESSES below by September 30, 2004.

[[Page 49944]]


ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be forwarded 
to: Joni Roeseler, Project Manager, Federal Transit Administration, 
Region VII, 901 Locust Street, Room 404, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 
Telephone: (816) 329-3936; e-mail: [email protected]; or: David 
Miller, City Engineer, City of Branson, 110 West Maddux Street, Suite 
310, Branson, Missouri 65616; Telephone: (417) 337-8559; e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If additional information is needed, 
contact the FTA or the City of Branson personnel identified in 
ADDRESSES above. You can also visit the City of Branson Web site at 
http://www.branson.com where a project page will be established by the 
time of the open-house meeting.
    Scoping Package: An information packet, referred to as the Scoping 
Booklet, will be distributed to interested individuals upon request and 
will be available at the meeting. (Copies of the Scoping Booklet have 
also been distributed to resource agencies.) Others may request the 
Scoping Booklet by contacting the Branson City Engineer as indicated in 
ADDRESSES above. Also contact the Branson City Engineer if you wish to 
be placed on the mailing list to receive additional information as the 
study develops.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Scoping

    FTA, in cooperation with the City of Branson and the Missouri 
department of Transportation (MoDOT), will prepare an EIS to address 
transit improvements in the City of Branson, Missouri. The EIS will 
evaluate all reasonable alternatives identified during the scoping 
process, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
and its implementing regulations. This NEPA alternatives analysis is 
expected to result in the selection of a locally preferred alternative, 
which may include a fixed guideway transit improvement.

II. Description of Corridor and Transportation Needs

    Branson, Missouri, with a populations of about 6,000 accommodates 
over seven million visitors a year. These visitors make trips to 
multiple venues (theaters, lodging, restaurants, etc.), which are 
concentrated along State Route 76. This roadway, referred to as ``the 
Strip,'' offers a single lane of vehicular flow in each direction 
divided by a two-way left-turn lane. The roadway is paralleled by 
narrow paved shoulders used as sidewalks and by multiple overhead 
utilities situated adjacent to intensive development. Only a handful of 
signalized intersections exist along the strip, complicating the 
ability of pedestrians to get across the street. Options are limited to 
further expand the roadway network to address the considerable traffic 
congestion that remains on the Strip from single-occupant autos and 
tour buses. No public transit service is currently available in the 
corridor. The problem is expected to grow worse over time as venues 
continue to grow in popularity and as more venues are added.
    Transit needs will be evaluated in this corridor to address the 
congestion problems along the Strip. The study area involves a roughly 
ten-mile-long corridor. It is generally bounded: on the north by the 
Red Route west of Roark Creek and the Missouri and North Arkansas 
railroad east of Roark Creek; on the east by the rail line; on the 
south by parkland paralleling Lake Taneycomo and the Yellow Route; and 
on the west by the Taney/Stone County line. Alternatives to be 
considered will include: (1) Taking no action (no-build); (2) 
transportation systems management; (3) fixed guideway transit 
(including elevated options with park-and-ride facilities and feeder 
bus/shuttle vans); and (4) other alternatives discovered during the 
scoping process.

III. Probable Effects and Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The transportation, social, economic, and environmental effects of 
the alternatives will be evaluated during the project study. The impact 
areas to be addressed include: land use effects; visual/aesthetic 
effects; community, business and economic impacts; traffic and parking; 
public safety; utilities effects; relocations; water quality; flood 
plains; natural systems impacts; air quality; noise and vibration; 
energy impacts; and cultural and historic resources. Potential 
environmental justice issues and financial considerations will also be 
addressed along with secondary, cumulative and construction impacts.

IV. 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 regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 23 CFR 
part 771), the Clean Air Act, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 
Executive Order 12898 regarding environmental justice, the National 
Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Section 4(f) 
of the DOT Act, will be addressed. In addition, the FTA New Starts 
regulation (49 CFR part 611) will be applied, which requires the 
submission of specific information to FTA from the grant applicant to 
support an FTA decision on initiating preliminary engineering.
    Comments and suggestions are invited from all interested parties to 
assist in addressing the full range of alternatives and to identify any 
significant potential project impacts. In addition, a public hearing 
will be held after the draft EIS has been circulated for public and 
agency review and comment. Comments or questions concerning the 
proposed action and the scope of the EIS should be directed to the FTA 
as described in ADDRESSES above.

    Issued on August 6, 2004.
Mokhtee Ahmad,
FTA Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-18486 Filed 8-11-04; 8:45 am]
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