[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 58 (Friday, March 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13507-13510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6917]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Transit 
Improvements in the Westside Extension Transit Corridor, Los Angeles, 
CA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Los Angeles 
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) intend to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed transit 
improvements in the Westside Extension Transit Corridor in Los Angeles 
County, California. The proposed project would provide for transit 
improvements within the Westside Extension Transit Corridor.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act

[[Page 13508]]

(NEPA) and its implementing regulations, as well as provisions of the 
recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation 
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. LACMTA will also use the EIS document 
to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which 
requires an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The purpose of this 
notice is to alert interested parties regarding the intent to prepare 
the EIS to provide information on the nature of the proposed project 
and possible alternatives, to invite public participation in the EIS 
process (including providing comments on the scope of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), to announce that public scoping 
meetings will be conducted, and to identify participating and 
cooperating agency contacts.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, should be sent to 
LACMTA on or before May 7, 2009 at the address below. Public scoping 
meetings to accept comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR will be held on 
the following dates:
     Monday, April 13, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Los 
Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 
90036.
     Tuesday, April 14, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Plummer 
Park, 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90046.
     Thursday, April 16, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 
Beverly Hills Public Library, 444 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 
90210.
     Monday, April 20, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Westwood 
Presbyterian Church, 10822 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
     Thursday, April 23, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Santa 
Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 
90401.
    The project's purpose and need, and the description of alternatives 
for the proposed project 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 Ms. Jody Litvak, Community Relations Manager, Los Angeles 
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) at 213-922-1240, 
or [email protected].
    Scoping materials will be available at the meetings and on the 
LACMTA Web site (http://www.metro.net/westside). Paper copies of the 
scoping materials may also be obtained from Ms. Jody Litvak, Community 
Relations Manager, LACMTA, at 213-922-1240, or [email protected]. An 
interagency scoping meeting will be held on Monday, April 13, 2009 from 
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the LACMTA, in the Windsor Conference Room, 15th 
Floor, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Representatives of 
Native American tribal governments and of all Federal, State, regional 
and local agencies that may have an interest in any aspect of the 
project will be invited to be participating or cooperating agencies, as 
appropriate.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. David Mieger, AICP, 
Project Director and Deputy Executive Officer, Los Angeles County 
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), One Gateway Plaza, Los 
Angeles, CA 90012, phone 213-922-3040, e-mail address 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ray Tellis, Team Leader, Los 
Angeles Metropolitan Office, Federal Transit Administration, 888 South 
Figueroa Street, Suite 1850, Los Angeles, CA 90017, phone 213-202-3950, 
e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Proposed Project

    The proposed subway extension project is in western Los Angeles 
County and includes portions of five jurisdictions: the Cities of Los 
Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, as well as 
portions of unincorporated Los Angeles County. The project is generally 
bounded by the Santa Monica Mountains along Hollywood, Sunset and San 
Vicente Boulevards, east to the Metro Rail stations at Hollywood/
Highland and Wilshire/Western, south to Pico Boulevard, and west to the 
Pacific Ocean. Project length for the Wilshire Boulevard Subway 
Alignment Heavy Rail (Alternative 1) is 12.5 miles extending from the 
Metro Purple Line Wilshire/Western Station to 4th Street and Wilshire 
Boulevard in Santa Monica and would include 10 stations and 1 optional 
station. Wilshire/Santa Monica Boulevards Combined HRT Subway 
(Alternatives 11) includes the full Wilshire Boulevard HRT Subway and 
adds a second line extending west from the Metro Red Line Hollywood/
Highland Station via Santa Monica Boulevard to join the Wilshire Line 
in Beverly Hills. The total combined line is 17 miles long and includes 
14 stations and 1 optional station. Population and employment densities 
in the Project area are among the highest in the metropolitan region, 
averaging approximately 13,100 persons per square mile and 12,500 jobs 
per square mile. These high population and employment concentrations 
make the Project Area one of the densest places to live and work in the 
county.
    The proposed Westside Extension project would offer a viable 
alternative to driving in the heavily congested Project Area. The 
mobility improvements offered by such a system will improve job 
accessibility for transit-dependent residents within, as well as 
outside, the Project Area, as well as greater Los Angeles, and improve 
transportation equity for all population groups. The high-quality 
transit solution will complement existing transit-supporting land uses 
and present new opportunities for mixed-use and high-density 
development in the Project Area.
    The various alternatives to be considered for the Westside 
Extension project generally traverse Wilshire Boulevard from the Metro 
Purple Line Wilshire/Western station to 4th Street and Wilshire 
Boulevard in Santa Monica (Alternative 1), and a second line extending 
west from the Metro Red Line Hollywood/Highland Station via Santa 
Monica Boulevard to join the Wilshire Line in Beverly Hills 
(Alternative 11).

Purpose and Need for the Project

    The purpose of the project is to address the mobility needs of 
residents, workers, and visitors traveling to, from, and within the 
highly congested Westside Extension Study Area by providing faster and 
more reliable high-capacity public transportation than existing 
services which operate in mixed-flow traffic. This proposed subway 
improvement will bring about a significant increase in east-west 
capacity and improvement in person-mobility by reducing transit travel 
time. On a county-wide level, the project will strengthen regional 
access by connecting Metro bus, Metro rail, and Metrolink networks to a 
high-capacity transit serving the Study Area. The overall goal of the 
project is to improve mobility in the Westside Extension Transit 
Corridor by extending the benefits of the existing Metro Red/Metro 
Purple Line rail and bus services beyond their current termini near 
Highland Avenue and/or Western Avenue in Los Angeles as far as Ocean 
Avenue in Santa Monica.
    Mobility problems and the need for improvements in this corridor 
have been well documented in many studies, including the numerous Metro 
Red Line planning studies, Southern California Association of 
Governments (SCAG)

[[Page 13509]]

planning studies, the Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor Re-Evaluation/
Major Investment Study (2000), the Metro Rapid Demonstration Project 
(2000), the Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor Draft EIS/EIR (2001), 
the American Public Transit Association Review of Wilshire Corridor 
Tunneling (2005), and in the Southern California Association of 
Governments Regional Transportation Plan (2008).
    Most recently, an Alternatives Analysis Study for the Westside 
Extension Transit Corridor as required by 49 U.S.C. 5309 for New 
Starts-funded projects, was completed and, was adopted by the LACMTA 
Board of Directors on January 22, 2009, and is available for review on 
the project Web site at http://www.metro.net/westside. The public and 
participating and cooperating agencies are invited to consider and 
comment on this statement of the purpose and need for the proposed 
subway project.

Alternatives

    The Westside Extension proposes to extend the Metro Rail heavy rail 
technology westward from the terminus of the Metro Purple Line at the 
Wilshire/Western station and potentially a second leg from the Metro 
Red Line at the Hollywood/Highland station. The Alternatives Analysis 
(AA) Study was completed in January 2009. The process began with the 
identification of initial conceptual alternatives and early public and 
agency scoping. Then a set of 17 initial conceptual alternatives was 
identified, screened, and narrowed down to a most promising set of five 
alternatives. These five alternatives were then evaluated at a more 
detailed level and as a result, the following two subway alignment 
alternatives plus the No Build and Transportation Systems Management 
(TSM) alternatives were recommended to be carried forward for analysis 
in the EIS:
    Wilshire Boulevard Alignment Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) Subway: This 
alternative alignment extends underground from the Metro Purple Line 
Wilshire/Western station to 4th Street and Wilshire Boulevard in Santa 
Monica. It has 10 stations and 1 optional station. The alignment is 
generally under Wilshire Boulevard with various route alignments 
between Century City and Santa Monica.
    Wilshire/Santa Monica Boulevard Combined HRT Subway: This alignment 
alternative extends underground from the Metro Purple Line Wilshire/
Western station and from the Metro Red Line at the Hollywood/Highland 
station to 4th Street and Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. It has 14 
stations and 1 optional station.
    This alternative has two alignment options in the Beverly Center 
area. One option follows San Vicente Boulevard from Santa Monica 
Boulevard to La Cienega Boulevard, where it curves south and then west 
to meet the Wilshire Boulevard alignment. The second option follows La 
Cienega Boulevard from Santa Monica Boulevard, past the Beverly Center, 
and curves west at Wilshire Boulevard.
    Minimum Operable Segments: A total of four Minimum Operable Segment 
Alternatives will be included for analysis including the following: (1) 
Wilshire Boulevard HRT Subway from Wilshire/Western to Fairfax (3 
miles); (2) Wilshire Boulevard HRT Subway from Wilshire/Western to 
Century City (6.5 miles); (3) Wilshire Boulevard HRT Subway from 
Wilshire/Western to Westwood/UCLA vicinity (8 to 9.5 miles); and (4) 
MOS 3 plus Metro Red Line HRT Subway from Hollywood/Highland 
via Santa Monica Boulevard (12.5 to 14 miles).
    No Build Alternative: This EIS will also consider the No Build 
Alternative that includes all existing highway and transit services and 
facilities and the committed highway and transit projects in the 
current LACMTA Long Range Transportation Plan and the current 2008 
Southern California Association of Governments' Regional Transportation 
Plan. No new infrastructure would be built within the Study Area, aside 
from projects currently under construction, or funded for construction 
and operation by 2030 by the recently approved Measure R and identified 
in the LACMTA Long Range Transportation Plan. Proposed major highway 
improvements affecting the Westside Extension Transit Corridor between 
now and 2030 include completing missing segments of high occupancy 
vehicle (HOV) lanes on Interstate 405 (I-405) Freeway. From a rail 
transit perspective, the No Build Alternative includes the Metro Purple 
and Metro Red Lines along the eastern and northeastern edges of the 
study area. This alternative also includes a rich network of local, 
express, and Metro Rapid bus routes that will continue to be provided, 
with both bus route and additions and modifications proposed.
    Transportation System Management (TSM) Alternative: The EIS will 
also consider the TSM Alternative which enhances the No Build 
Alternative and improves upon the existing Metro Rapid Bus service and 
local bus service in the Westside Extension Transit Corridor study 
area. This alternative emphasizes more frequent service and low cost 
capital and operations improvements to reduce delay and enhance 
mobility. Although the frequency of service is already very good, this 
alternative considers improved bus services during peak periods on 
selected routes.
    In addition to the alternatives described above, other transit 
alternatives not previously considered in the Alternatives Analysis 
Study and brought forward during the public and agency scoping process 
will be evaluated for potential inclusion in the EIS.

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

    The purpose of the EIS 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 LACMTA will 
evaluate all significant environmental, social, and economic impacts of 
the construction and operation of the proposed subway project. Impact 
areas to be addressed include: transportation, land use and 
development, land acquisition, displacements and relocations, cultural 
resources (including historical, archaeological and paleontological 
resources and parklands/recreation areas), community and neighborhood 
compatibility and environmental justice, visual and aesthetic impacts, 
natural resources (including air quality, wetlands, water resources, 
noise, vibration), climate change and energy use, safety and security, 
geotechnical factors (including subsurface and seismic hazards) and 
hazardous materials, and wildlife and ecosystems (including endangered 
species). Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate all adverse impacts 
will be identified and evaluated.
    The regulations implementing NEPA, including the 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 LACMTA do the 
following: (1) Extend an invitation to other Federal and non-Federal 
agencies and Native American 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 to 
help 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

[[Page 13510]]

invitation to become a participating or cooperating agency, with 
scoping materials appended, will be extended to other Federal and non-
Federal agencies and Native American tribes that may have an interest 
in the proposed project. It is possible that FTA and LACMTA will not be 
able to identify all Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native 
American tribes that may have such an interest. Any Federal or non-
Federal agency or Native American tribe interested in the proposed 
project that does not receive an invitation to become a participating 
agency should notify at the earliest opportunity the Project Manager 
identified above under ADDRESSES.
    A comprehensive public involvement program and a Coordination Plan 
for public and interagency involvement will be developed for the 
project and posted by LACMTA on the project Web page at http://www.metro.net/westside. The public involvement program includes a full 
range of activities including a public scoping process to define the 
issues of concern among all parties interested in the project: a 
project Web page on the LACMTA Web site, development and distribution 
of project newsletters, and other information pieces: outreach to local 
officials, community and civic groups, periodic meetings with various 
local agencies, organizations, and committees, the general public, and 
a public hearing on release of the draft environmental impact statement 
(DEIS). Specific activities or events for involvement will be detailed 
in the public involvement program.
    LACMTA may seek New Starts funding for the proposed project under 
49 United States Code 5309 and will, therefore, be subject to New 
Starts regulations (49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 611). The 
New Starts regulation requires a planning Alternatives Analysis that 
leads to the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative and the 
inclusion of this alternative in the long-range transportation plan 
adopted by the LACMTA and Southern California Association of 
Governments. LACMTA has completed the planning Alternatives Analysis 
Study in January 2009. The New Starts regulations also require the 
submission of certain project-justification information to support a 
request to initiate preliminary engineering. This information is 
normally developed in conjunction with the NEPA process. Pertinent New 
Starts evaluation criteria will be included in the EIS.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act 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: March 24, 2009.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Region IX.
 [FR Doc. E9-6917 Filed 3-26-09; 8:45 am]
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