[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16558-16559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07855]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Notice of Early Scoping for the Capital Metro Blue Line High 
Capacity Transit Corridor in Austin, Texas

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of early scoping meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Capital 
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) of Austin, Texas 
issue this early scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public 
that they intend to conduct early scoping for the Blue Line High 
Capacity Transit (HCT) Corridor. The Blue Line HCT Corridor is a 15.5-
mile corridor connecting multiple activity centers between North 
Austin, Downtown Austin, East Riverside and the Austin Bergstrom 
International Airport. The entire corridor is being proposed for HCT 
dedicated pathways.
    This notice invites public input to ongoing planning efforts for 
the Blue Line HCT Corridor by commenting on the project's purpose and 
need, the project study area, alternatives being considered, public 
participation and outreach methods, relevant transportation and 
community impacts and benefits being considered, potential 
environmental impacts, and the projected capital and operating costs of 
the project.

DATES: The public may learn more about the Blue Line HCT Corridor and 
provide comments at an early scoping meeting scheduled for: Monday, May 
20, 2019, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central Time at Austin Central Library, 710 
W Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78701.
    Capital Metro is also providing notice of this early scoping 
meeting on Capital Metro's website (capmetro.org) and in the following 
publications:

 Austin American Statesman
 The Villager Newspaper
 The LaPrensa Newspaper

ADDRESSES: Public comments will be accepted at the early scoping 
meeting. In addition, comments may be sent electronically to: 
[email protected]. Comments may be mailed to: Capital 
Metro Project Connect Office, Blue Line HCT Corridor Comments, 607 
Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701. All comments are requested by June 
28, 2019.
    The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. If 
translation, signing services, or other special accommodations are 
needed, please contact Courtney Black at (512) 457-1244 or via email at 
capmetro.org">courtney.black@capmetro.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terence Plaskon, FTA, phone: (817) 
978-0573, email: [email protected] or Joe Clemens, AICP, Capital 
Metro, phone: (512) 369-6515, email: capmetro.org">joe.clemens@capmetro.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Blue Line HCT Corridor is included in 
Capital Metro's Project Connect Long-Term Vision Plan. Project Connect 
developed specifically targeted solutions that address existing service 
deficiencies and identified HCT investments that would add mobility 
options for the Central Texas region. Early scoping for the Blue Line 
HCT Corridor builds on previous Project Connect planning efforts and 
will examine potential alternatives to provide HCT in the Central Texas 
region.
    The early scoping process is intended to support the formal 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping process. In addition, 
early scoping supports FTA planning requirements associated with the 
Capital Investment Grant funding

[[Page 16559]]

program. Capital Metro will comply with all relevant FTA requirements 
related to planning and project development to help analyze and screen 
alternatives in preparation for the NEPA process.

Early Scoping

    Early Scoping is an optional early step in the NEPA process that 
precedes formal scoping, which begins when FTA publishes a notice of 
intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). FTA 
encourages the use of early scoping for major planning activities that 
may receive FTA funding to start the NEPA process during earlier 
project planning phases. Early scoping is intended to generate public 
and agency review and comments on the scope of a planning effort within 
a defined transportation corridor, which helps the agency to determine 
which alignment variations should receive more focused development to 
streamline the NEPA process. Early scoping can serve not only to 
streamline the NEPA process, but also to firmly link transportation 
planning and NEPA, ensuring that the public and interested agencies are 
given the opportunity to review and provide comments on the results of 
planning activities that can then be used to inform the NEPA process.

Project Connect Long-Term Vision Plan

    Over the last 30 months, Capital Metro has been conducting the 
Project Connect System Plan per general guidelines of the Federal 
Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) process. Capital Metro 
intends to formalize the PEL process with the initiation of early 
scoping for the Blue Line HCT Corridor, so that the results of the PEL 
may be considered during the formal NEPA environmental review process.
    Under this PEL process, Capital Metro will analyze alternatives 
that could be considered in an EIS, if warranted. The alternatives 
analysis will document the project's purpose and need, analyze a range 
of reasonable, feasible, and prudent alternatives, and identify a 
locally preferred alternative (LPA) in accordance with the Council on 
Environmental Quality's and FTA's regulations and guidance for 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1501.2 through 1501.8 and 23 CFR 771.111, 
respectively), which encourages Federal agencies to initiate NEPA early 
in their planning processes.
    Early scoping allows the scoping process to begin as soon as there 
is enough information to describe the proposal so that the public and 
relevant agencies can participate effectively. This notice opens early 
scoping and invites public and agency involvement with ongoing planning 
activities and studies for the Blue Line HCT Corridor, including review 
of the (a) purpose and need, (b) the proposed alternatives, and (c) the 
potential environmental, transportation, and community impacts and 
benefits to consider during the NEPA process.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Project

    Capital Metro invites comments on the following preliminary 
statement of the project's purpose and need: The purpose of the project 
is to build high capacity transit along Trinity Street, over the 
Colorado River, and along East Riverside Drive that provides faster, 
more reliable travel to, from, and between North Austin, University of 
Texas, Downtown Austin, East Riverside, and Austin Bergstrom 
International Airport. The purpose is in response to the following 
needs in the corridor:
     The need to connect activity centers and manage future 
growth with improved transit;
     the need to provide better transit options linking 
affordable housing and jobs;
     the need to connect employers and employees along the 
corridor with fast and reliable transit;
     the need to ensure inter-operability between the Blue Line 
and future corridors; and
     the need to respond to explosive growth in airport travel 
that warrants improved transit to Austin Bergstrom International 
Airport.

Potential Alternatives

    During the early scoping process, all reasonable alternatives under 
consideration will be evaluated in terms of their transportation 
impacts, capital and operating costs, social, economic, and 
environmental impacts, and technical consideration. Capital Metro will 
continue to analyze alternative transit modes, alignment, and design 
options for HCT in the Blue Line Corridor. Capital Metro will seek to 
identify a broad range of alternatives, consistent with the project's 
purpose and need. The alternatives will include a No Build Alternative, 
as well as the following proposed alternatives:
     Baseline Alternative (MetroBus Route 20 with transit speed 
and reliability improvements);
     Dedicated Pathways Bus Rapid Transit (BRT);
     Dedicated Pathways Light Rail Transit (LRT); and
     Dedicated Pathways Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART).
    At the end of the early scoping process, FTA and Capital Metro 
anticipate identifying a preferred mode and alignment as the LPA for 
further evaluation during the formal NEPA process. If an EIS is 
warranted, FTA will publish a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register 
and the public and interested agencies will have the opportunity to 
participate in a review and comment period on the scope of the EIS.

Gail Lyssy,
Deputy Regional Administrator, FTA Region VI.
[FR Doc. 2019-07855 Filed 4-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-57-P