[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1397-1399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-13]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Preparation of an Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact 
Statement for High-Capacity Transit Improvements in the Tempe South 
Corridor

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Alternatives Analysis/
Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Valley Metro 
Rail, Inc. (METRO) intend to prepare an Alternatives Analysis (AA) and 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on proposed high capacity transit 
improvements, including potential bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail 
transit (LRT), modern streetcar, or commuter rail in the Tempe South 
Corridor in the Cities of Tempe and Chandler in Maricopa County, 
Arizona. The proposed study area is bounded on the north by the Loop 
202 (Red Mountain Freeway); Loop 101 (Price Freeway) on the east; Loop 
202 (Santan Freeway) on the south; and the Tempe Branch of the Union 
Pacific Railroad on the west. The AA/EIS will be prepared in accordance 
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
and its implementing regulations. The AA/EIS process will be initiated 
with a scoping process that provides opportunities for the public to 
comment on the scope of the EIS, including the project's purpose and 
need, the alternatives to be considered, and the impacts to be 
evaluated in the AA and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). 
This input will be used to assist decisionmakers in determining a 
locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the Tempe South Corridor. Upon 
selection of an LPA, METRO will request permission from FTA to enter 
into preliminary engineering per requirements of New Starts regulations 
49 CFR Part 611. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will 
be issued after FTA approves entrance into preliminary engineering.
    The purpose of this notice is to alert interested parties regarding 
the intent to prepare the AA/EIS, to provide information on the nature 
of the proposed project and possible alternatives, to invite public 
participation in the AA/EIS process, including comments on the scope of 
the EIS as proposed in this notice, to announce that public scoping 
meetings will be conducted, and to identify participating agency 
contacts.

DATES: Written and e-mailed comments on the scope of study, including 
the project's purpose and need, the alternatives to be considered, and 
the impacts to be assessed, should be sent to Valley Metro Rail, Inc. 
(METRO) on or before February 13. See ADDRESSES below for the street 
address and e-mail address to which written comments may be sent. 
Public scoping meetings to accept comments on the scope of the study 
will be held on the following dates:
     Tuesday, January 29, 2007 at 6 p.m., Corona del Sol High 
School, 1001 East Knox Road, Tempe, Arizona 85284.
     Wednesday, January 30, 2007 at 6 p.m., Tempe Public 
Library, 3500 South Rural Road, Tempe, Arizona 85282.
    Potential participating and cooperating agencies will be invited by 
phone or letter to an interagency scoping meeting planned to be held on 
the following date:
     Thursday, February 7, 2007 at 10 a.m., Valley Metro Rail 
(METRO), 101 North 1st Avenue, Suite 1300, Phoenix, AZ 85003.
    The project's purpose and need and the initial set of alternatives 
proposed for study will be presented at these meetings. The buildings 
used for the scoping meetings are accessible to persons with 
disabilities. Any individual who requires special assistance, such as a 
sign language interpreter, to participate in a scoping meeting should 
contact Dawn Coomer, City of Tempe, 31 E. Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 
85281, 480-350-8550 at least 48 hours in advance of a meeting in order 
for METRO and the City of Tempe to make the necessary arrangements.
    Scoping materials will be available at the meetings and through the 
project's Web site at http://www.metrolightrail.org/tempesouth. Hard 
copies of the scoping materials are also available from Mr. Marc 
Soronson, whose contact information is given in ADDRESSES below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the attention of Mr. Marc 
Soronson, Valley Metro Rail, Inc., 101 North 1st Avenue, Suite 1300, 
Phoenix, AZ 85003. E-mail: [email protected]. Phone: (602) 
744-5545 Fax: (602) 252-7453. The locations of the public scoping 
meetings are given above under DATES.

[[Page 1398]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Hymie Luden, Office of Planning 
and Program Development, Federal Transit Administration, 201 Mission 
Street, Room 1650, San Francisco, CA 94105. Phone: (415) 744-2732.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scoping

    The FTA and Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (METRO) invite all interested 
individuals and organizations, public agencies, and Native American 
Tribes to comment on the scope of the alternatives analysis (AA) and 
the EIS, including the project's preliminary statement of purpose and 
need, the alternatives to be studied and the impacts to be evaluated. 
Comments should focus on the purpose and need for the proposed project; 
alternatives that may be less costly or have less environmental or 
community impacts while achieving similar transportation objectives; 
and the identification of any significant social, economic, or 
environmental issues relating to the alternatives.

Purpose and Need for the Project

    The draft statement of the project purpose is currently under 
review by METRO and the Cities of Tempe and Chandler and will be 
refined further through the scoping process. In its current state, the 
purpose is defined as follows:
    1. Identify an alignment and technology for improved transit 
service, to connect Downtown Tempe, Arizona State University (ASU) and 
sections of Chandler with the 20-mile CP-EV light rail starter line.
    2. Improve transit connectivity throughout Downtown Tempe and ASU.
    3. Improve transit access to employment opportunities throughout 
the study area in Tempe as well as in the Central Phoenix/East Valley 
region.
    4. Provide transit options to relieve peak period congestion on 
north-south arterials in the study area, as well as on Downtown Tempe 
streets.
    5. Address mid-day transit travel demand and bus overcrowding.
    6. Facilitate continued development of a comprehensive and inter-
connected regional transit network that is multi-modal, that offers a 
range of choices for current and future transit riders, and that 
attracts new transit riders to the regional system.
    7. Provide cost-effective transit service.
    8. Support economic development and enhance connectivity among 
developing transit-oriented, high-density projects, activity centers 
and attractions in the study area.
    Additional considerations supporting the project's need include:
    Infill growth in the City of Tempe and the growth in the City of 
Chandler have caused substantial increases in traffic congestion on the 
existing roadway network and has generated the need for new public 
transportation service. Even with implementation of the projects 
included in the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Regional 
Transportation Plan, level of service (LOS) in 2030 on both the area 
freeways and arterials is expected to deteriorate substantially because 
of increased travel demand, resulting in a significant increase in 
delay. In Tempe, little or no additional freeway or arterial capacity 
is planned. Daily freeway congestion is currently higher compared to 
the region, and the MAG model projects this trend to continue in the 
future.

Alternatives

    At a minimum, the alternatives to be considered in AA include the 
following:
     No-Build--Implements modified existing and committed road 
and transit improvements as defined by the Regional Transportation Plan 
and coordinated by the Cities of Tempe and Chandler.
     Transportation System Management (TSM)--Includes 
reasonable, cost-effective transit service improvements short of a 
major capital investment in fixed guideway. In addition, the TSM 
implements all of the projects in the No-Build alternative.
     Build Alternatives--fixed guideway alternatives include 
projects defined in the No-Build Alternative. All Build Alternatives 
begin at various locations along the LRT Starter Line in Tempe 
(scheduled to open in late 2008) and extend south to Chandler on 
either:

--Tempe Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR).
--Mill Avenue/Kyrene Road.
--Rural Road.
--McClintock Drive.

    Transit technologies under consideration are bus rapid transit 
(BRT), light rail transit (LRT), modern streetcar, and commuter rail. 
All of the technologies, except commuter rail, are being considered for 
all of the proposed alignments. Commuter rail is only being considered 
on the Tempe Branch (UPRR). Between the LRT starter line in Tempe and a 
new park-and-ride facility in the vicinity of the US 60 (Superstition 
Freeway), the high capacity transit improvement would be built in a 
fixed guideway along any of the alignments being considered. Between US 
60 and a new park-and-ride in the vicinity of the Loop 202 in Chandler, 
the following options are being considered for the Tempe Branch UPRR:
     Continue south to the Loop 202 in fixed guideway using the 
same transit mode as that considered in the northern portion of the 
study area.
     For LRT and streetcar modes, two additional options that 
connect at US 60 to BRT with limited stop service are considered:

--BRT operating in fixed guideway along the railroad line; or
--BRT operating in mixed traffic along Kyrene Road.

    For all other alternative alignments, BRT operating in mixed 
traffic lanes with limited stop service would continue south of US 60 
to Chandler along either Kyrene Road, Mill Avenue/Kyrene Road, Rural 
Road, or McClintock Drive, depending on location of the option being 
considered in the northern segment of the study area. For the Kyrene 
Road and Mill Avenue/Kyrene Road alignments, the alignment would 
continue south to a new park-and-ride facility at the Loop 202 (Santan 
Freeway) that would be built somewhere in the vicinity between I-10 and 
Kyrene Road. The McClintock Drive alignment would continue south to 
Chandler Fashion Center via Chandler Boulevard. The Rural Road 
alignment has two options that could travel south to: (1) The new park-
and-ride facility at the Loop 202; or (2) to Chandler Fashion Center. 
These alternatives will be developed further during preparation of the 
AA/EIS.
    Additional reasonable Build Alternatives suggested during the 
scoping process that meet the purpose and need for the project will 
also be considered.

The EIS Process and the Role of Participating Agencies and the Public

    The purpose of the NEPA process is to explore, in a public setting, 
the effects of the proposed project and its alternatives on the 
physical, human, and natural environment. The FTA and METRO will 
evaluate all significant environmental, social, and economic impacts of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project. Impact areas to 
be addressed include: Land use; development potential; secondary 
development; land acquisition and displacements and relocations; 
cultural resources (including impacts on historical and archaeological 
resources); parklands and recreation areas; visual and aesthetic 
qualities; air quality; noise and vibration; ecosystems (including 
threatened and endangered species);

[[Page 1399]]

energy use; business and neighborhood disruptions; environmental 
justice; changes in traffic and pedestrian circulation and congestion; 
and changes in transit service and patronage. Measures to avoid, 
minimize, or mitigate any significant adverse impacts will be 
identified and evaluated.
    The methodology for evaluation of impacts will focus on the areas 
of investigation mentioned above. As the public involvement and agency 
consultation process proceeds, additional evaluation criteria and 
impact assessment measures will be included in the analysis. Potential 
alternatives will be developed to a conceptual level, and will be 
screened and ranked against these evaluation criteria and local 
community considerations. Travel time savings, potential for congestion 
reduction and improved mobility options for Tempe and Chandler 
residents will be assessed for the transportation alternatives 
considered. The public involvement program and agency coordination plan 
discussed below will provide the vehicle through which these evaluation 
analyses will be conducted.
    The regulations implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the 
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public involvement in the EIS 
process. Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that FTA and METRO do the 
following: (1) Extend an invitation to other Federal and non-Federal 
agencies and Indian tribes that may have an interest in the proposed 
project to become ``participating agencies''; (2) provide an 
opportunity for involvement by participating agencies and the public in 
helping to define the purpose and need for a proposed project, as well 
as the range of alternatives for consideration in the EIS; and (3) 
establish a plan for coordinating public and agency participation in 
and comment on the environmental review process. An invitation to 
become a participating agency, with the scoping information packet 
appended, will be extended to other Federal and non-Federal agencies 
and Indian tribes that may have an interest in the proposed project. It 
is possible that we may not be able to identify all Federal and non-
Federal agencies and Indian tribes that may have such an interest. Any 
Federal or non-Federal agency or Indian tribe interested in the 
proposed project that does not receive an invitation to become a 
participating agency should notify, at the earliest opportunity, the 
person identified above under ADDRESSES.
    A public and agency Coordination Plan that includes a comprehensive 
Public Involvement Program will be created. The Public Involvement 
Program will include a full range of involvement activities. Activities 
will include 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; organizing periodic 
meetings with various local agencies, organizations and committees; a 
public hearing on release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS); and development and distribution of project newsletters. There 
will be additional opportunities to participate in the scoping process 
in addition to the public meetings announced in this notice. Specific 
mechanisms for involvement will be detailed in the Public Involvement 
Program.
    Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (METRO) may seek New Starts funding for the 
proposed project under 49 U.S.C. 5309 and will therefore be subject to 
New Starts regulations (49 CFR Part 611). The New Starts regulation 
requires a planning Alternatives Analysis that leads to the selection 
of a locally preferred alternative and inclusion of the locally 
preferred alternative as part of the long-range transportation plan 
adopted by the Maricopa Association of Governments. The New Starts 
regulation also requires the submission of certain project-
justification information in support of a request to initiate 
preliminary engineering, and this information is normally developed in 
conjunction with the NEPA process. Pertinent New Starts evaluation 
criteria will be included in the Final EIS.
    The AA/EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA and its 
implementing regulations issued by the Council on Environmental Quality 
(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and with the FTA/Federal Highway 
Administration regulations ``Environmental Impact and Related 
Procedures'' (23 CFR Part 771). In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a) 
and 771.133, FTA will comply with all Federal environmental laws, 
regulations, and executive orders applicable to the proposed project 
during the environmental review process to the maximum extent 
practicable. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the 
environmental and public hearing provisions of Federal transit laws (49 
U.S.C. 5301(e), 5323(b), and 5324), the project-level air quality 
conformity regulation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
(40 CFR part 93), the section 404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part 
230), the regulation implementing section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (36 CFR part 800), the regulation implementing section 
7 of the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR part 402), section 4(f) of the 
Department of Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135), and Executive Orders 
12898 on environmental justice, 11988 on floodplain management and 
11990 on wetlands.

    Issued on: January 2, 2008.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, FTA Region IX.
[FR Doc. 08-13 Filed 1-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-M