15996 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 22, 2011 / Notices 

Individuals who plan to attend and 

need special assistance, such as sign 

language interpretation and other 

reasonable accommodations, should 

contact the BLM as provided above. 

Dated: June 14, 2010. 

Joseph J. Fontana, 

Public Affairs Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6635 Filed 3–21–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–PWRO–PWR–1228–6476; 8145–8B90– 

SZM] 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

for Extension of F-Line Historic 

Streetcar Service, Golden Gate 

National Recreation Area and San 

Francisco Maritime National Historical 

Park, County of San Francisco, CA 

AGENCY: National Park Service. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability for Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Extension of F-Line Historic Streetcar 

Service, Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area and San Francisco 

Maritime National Historical Park. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with 

§ 102(2)(C) of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and 

pursuant to the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s regulations (40 

CFR parts 1500–08), the National Park 

Service has prepared a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 

EIS) for the proposed extension of the 

northern waterfront Municipal Railway 

Historic Streetcar Service. Beginning at 

Fisherman’s Wharf, this proposed 

railway extension would serve visitors 

to two popular units of the National 

Park System—San Francisco Maritime 

National Historical Park and the Fort 

Mason area of Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area. This project is being 

developed in close coordination with 

San Francisco Municipal Railway 

(Muni) and other City and County of 

San Francisco planning and 

transportation agencies. The course of 

action proposed would lengthen the 

historic streetcar F-line approximately 

.85 mile from Fisherman’s Wharf to the 

San Francisco Maritime National 

Historical Park and thence to the Golden 

Gate National Recreation Area. 

Currently, the F-line serves more than 

20,000 passengers daily and is one of 

Muni’s most popular lines, yet does not 

provide direct access to heavily visited 

Aquatic Park and Fort Mason Center 

areas. The intended effect of this 

proposal is to provide park visitors and 

transit-dependent city residents with 

high-quality rail transit that improves 

transportation access and mobility. In 

addition to the proposal, the Draft EIS 

evaluates a No-Action alternative, and 

documents early consideration of 

preliminary options not carried forward 

for analysis. 

Background: A congressionallymandated Travel Study completed in 

1977 recommended restoring the 

historic rail link between the Hyde 

Street Pier and Fort Mason to improve 

access to various National Park Service 

(NPS) sites. The rail line was 

subsequently abandoned (1980), and the 

area between Hyde Street Pier and the 

Fort Mason tunnel entrance was 

designated a National Historic 

Landmark District in 1987 (which is 

now encompassed in the San Francisco 

Maritime National Historical Park 

created in 1988). Also, in the late 1980s 

federal highway funds originally 

intended for extending Interstate 280 

were reallocated to a number of 

alternative transportation facilities along 

the Embarcadero including creation of 

an historic streetcar line along Market 

Street and the Embarcadero to 

Fisherman’s Wharf. In 2000 this service 

was extended to Fisherman’s Wharf. 

The popularity of the historic streetcars 

resulted in public and private interest in 

extending the service to the disjunct 

NPS areas. 

The Municipal Railway currently 

operates historic streetcar service on 

Market Street and along the San 

Francisco waterfront (F-Line) to the 

line’s existing terminus in the 

Fisherman’s Wharf area. The proposed 

expansion would extend west to San 

Francisco Maritime National Historical 

Park (NHP) and on to Fort Mason. The 

NHP is visited by approximately 4 

million people annually and is currently 

served by very popular cable cars (often 

crowded at peak tourist times) as well 

as streetcar and bus lines. Fort Mason, 

home to the Fort Mason Center, houses 

more than 40 non-profit organizations 

offering more than 15,000 events a year 

and attracting upwards of 1.6 million 

visitors. These areas are underserved by 

mass transit access, and as a result 

automobile-based visitation causes 

massive parking problems that affect 

surrounding neighborhoods. 

Furthermore, inadequate mass transit 

access makes it difficult for transitdependent San Franciscans to enjoy the 

cultural and educational events offered 

at Fort Mason Center. 

Development of Alternatives: The core 

team for development of the Draft EIS 

includes the NPS as the lead federal 

agency, and San Francisco Municipal 

Transportation Agency and Federal 

Transit Administration as cooperating 

agencies. A Technical Advisory 

Committee (TAC) was also convened to 

meet periodically to provide technical 

support during the various stages of the 

study and preparation of the EIS. In 

addition to the cooperators, members of 

the TAC include representatives from 

Fort Mason Center, Golden Gate 

National Parks Conservancy, Market 

Street Railway, San Francisco 

Department of Recreation and Parks, 

and San Francisco County 

Transportation Authority. 

Public notification at the onset of the 

EIS process was made through direct 

mail to approximately 4,000 persons, 

organizations, and agencies. Media 

publicity included announcements in 

the San Francisco Examiner (May 3, 

2006) and San Francisco Chronicle (May 

6, 2006). The Notice of Intent formally 

initiating the conservation planning and 

environmental impact analysis process 

was published in the Federal Register 

on March 29, 2006. Public and agency 

scoping meetings were held at Fort 

Mason Officer’s Club on May 9, 2006. 

During the 60-day public scoping 

period, the NPS received over 100 

comments from individuals, 

organizations representing 

environmental and recreational 

interests, and governmental agencies. 

Based on information obtained during 

the scoping phase, analysis focused on 

land use, socioeconomics, 

transportation and circulation, air 

quality, noise and vibration, cultural 

resources, recreation and visitor use, 

visual and aesthetic resources, night sky 

visibility and light pollution, geological 

resources, biological resources, public 

health and safety, and public services 

and utilities. The public’s primary 

concerns focused on changes in traffic 

and parking, impacts on parklands and 

recreational facilities, noise and 

vibration, visual impacts, and cultural 

resources. Information to inform 

preparation of the Draft EIS was also 

solicited from the TAC. 

A total of six preliminary alignments 

and seven turnaround alternatives were 

developed as a result of the comments 

received. This included consideration of 

other transit modes such as diesel bus 

and trolley coach. Four additional 

turnaround alternatives were 

subsequently developed during the 

project’s TAC meetings. 

The Draft EIS identifies and analyzes 

potential consequences of implementing 

two alternatives. In addition, several 

preliminary alternatives were 

considered but dismissed from detailed 

analysis. Alternative 1, the No-Action 

‘‘baseline alternative’’ would provide no 

changes from the existing historic 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 22, 2011 / Notices 15997 

streetcar line and would not provide 

transit connections to the Fort Mason 

Center. 

Alternative 2 (agency-preferred) 

would extend the existing F–Line from 

Fisherman’s Wharf to the Fort Mason 

Center. Included are new rail track and 

associated new platforms and 

designated stops; retrofitting of the 

historic State Belt Railroad tunnel; and 

a turnaround loop. The track extension 

would include a street-running segment 

along Beach Street, a transition zone 

between the street-running segment and 

the Fort Mason Tunnel segment. Two 

‘‘turnaround segment’’ options for the 

terminus—North Loop (Fort Mason 

parking lot) and South Loop (Great 

Meadow)—were analyzed during a 

Value Analysis (VA) workshop held in 

August of 2010. The VA team focused 

on: (1) Identifying a ‘‘preferred’’ 

alternative for the streetcar extension 

turnaround; (2) identifying 

opportunities to improve value for the 

project; and (3) confirming sustainable 

project goals for the NPS. The VA team 

rated the North Loop turnaround option 

higher than three variations of the South 

Loop turnaround option. Other specific 

project elements include constructing 

streetcar track for approximately 0.85 

miles, construction of 8–9-station 

platforms, upgrades to the existing Fort 

Mason Tunnel, and installation of 

signals, crossings, wires and poles. 

Comments: This notice serves to 

formally open the public review and 

comment phase for the Draft EIS. The 

public and interested organizations are 

encouraged to provide written 

comments on issues and concerns, 

refinements in alternatives, potential 

environmental effects and appropriate 

mitigation measures that would reduce 

potential impacts. To afford an 

opportunity to obtain information, a 

public open house will be hosted on 

April 20, 2011 from 7–9 p.m. in the 

Golden Gate Room, Building A, Fort 

Mason (for directions or information 

about public transit, please consult the 

project Web site or contact the Muni 

Railway Extension Project Manager at 

(415) 561–2872). All written comments 

must be postmarked or transmitted not 

later than 60 days after publication of 

the EPA’s notice of filing in the Federal 

Register—as soon as this ending date is 

confirmed it will be announced on the 

project Web site. 

The project Web site http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/ 

StreetcarExtension provides the most 

up-to-date information regarding the 

project, including electronic version of 

the Draft EIS, planning process updates, 

meeting notices, reports and documents, 

and useful links associated with the 

project. Written comments on the Draft 

EIS should be mailed to the following 

address: Superintendent—GGNRA, 

Attn: Rick Foster, Muni Railway 

Extension Project Manager, Fort Mason, 

Bldg. 201, San Francisco, CA 94123. In 

addition to the project Web site, 

requests for printed copy of the Draft 

EIS or to be included on the project 

mailing list can be accommodated by 

contacting the Muni Railway Extension 

Project Manager at (415) 561–2872. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Decision Process: Availability of the 

Draft EIS for a 60-days public review 

will be formally announced through 

publication of this Notice of 

Availability, through local and regional 

news media, via the project Web site, 

and direct mailing to the project mailing 

list. Following due consideration of all 

public and agency comments, a Final 

EIS will be prepared. As a delegated EIS 

the official responsible for the final 

decision regarding the proposed 

extension is the Regional Director, 

Pacific West Region. Subsequently the 

officials responsible for implementation 

will be the Superintendents of Golden 

Gate National Recreation Area and San 

Francisco Maritime National Historical 

Park. 

Dated: March 15, 2011. 

Christine S. Lehnertz, 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6704 Filed 3–21–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–FN–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Reclamation 

Information Collection Activities; 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation 

(we, our, or us) intends to seek renewal 

of the following approved information 

collection set to expire on August 31, 

2011: Recreation Visitor Use Surveys. 

We will use several distinct forms to 

collect different types of recreation 

information. Before submitting the 

information collection request—OMB 

No. 1006–0028—to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

renewal, we are soliciting comments on 

specific aspects of the information 

collection. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by May 23, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send all comments 

concerning this notice to Bureau of 

Reclamation, Office of Policy and 

Administration, Attention: Jerome 

Jackson (84–53000), P.O. Box 25007, 

Denver, CO 80225–0007, or via e-mail at 

jljackson@usbr.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information or a copy of the 

proposed collection of information 

forms, contact Jerome Jackson at 303– 

445–2712. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.), this notice announces that we 

are requesting approval for the 

collection of data from recreational 

users of our lands and waterbodies. 

To meet our needs for the collection 

of visitor use data, we will be requesting 

that OMB reauthorize a two-part 

request. 

The first part of the request provides 

us with a set of 11 pre-approved 

questionnaires to be administered as 

approved by OMB. The second part of 

the request consists of OMB and the 

Bureau of Reclamation agreeing upon a 

process whereby we custom design a 

survey instrument to fit a specific 

situation or area. The custom designed 

survey would be created by extracting 

questions from the approved 

questionnaires as applicable to the area 

and issue being evaluated. Only 

questions included in the pre-approved 

questionnaires will be used. We will 

then submit the new survey form to 

OMB for expedited approval. 

Title: Recreation Visitor Use Surveys. 

Abstract: The Bureau of Reclamation 

is responsible for recreation 

development at all of its reservoirs. 

Presently, there are 289 designated 

recreation areas on our lands within the 

17 Western States. We must be able to 

respond to emerging trends, changes in 

the demographic profile of users, 

changing values, needs, wants, desires, 

and conflicts between user groups. 

Statistically valid and up-to-date data 

derived from users is essential to 

developing and providing recreation 

programs relevant to today’s visitor. 

Respondents: Respondents to the 

surveys will be members of the public 

engaged in recreational activities on our 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES