[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61579-61580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30212]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Central Light Rail 
Transit Line Between North Seattle (Northgate) and SeaTac, WA

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 Central Puget 
Sound Regional Transit Authority (RTA) intend to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The RTA will also ensure that the EIS 
satisfies the requirements of the Washington State Environmental Policy 
Act (SEPA). The FTA will be the NEPA lead agency. The RTA will be the 
SEPA lead agency. Corridor alternatives were evaluated in a SEPA plan-
level EIS (1993) and in a Major Investment Study (1997).
    The EIS will evaluate the Central Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project 
and alignment alternatives in the 23-mile long corridor between North 
Seattle (Northgate) and SeaTac, Washington. The proposed Central LRT 
Project is intended to provide light rail transit service between key 
activity centers along the corridor, including the region's three 
largest employment centers, many major institutions, dense residential 
neighborhoods, and regional destinations, such as Sea-Tac International 
Airport.
    The study area also includes several sites for a proposed LRT 
vehicle storage and maintenance facility. In addition, the EIS will 
evaluate the no-build alternative and any new, reasonable alternatives 
within the corridor generated through the scoping process.
    Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested 
persons, organizations, and federal, state, regional, and local 
agencies. Six public scoping meetings will be held, as well as one 
inter-agency scoping meeting. See DATES below for details.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives 
and impacts to be considered should be sent to the RTA by January 5, 
1998. See ADDRESSES below. Oral comments should be made at one of the 
six public scoping meetings scheduled below. Scoping Meetings: Public 
scoping meetings will be held on the following days and locations:

Tuesday, December 9, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Kane Hall, 
Walker Ames Room, University of Washington Campus, Seattle, WA
Wednesday, December 10, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Union 
Station, 401 S. Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
Thursday, December 11, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Rainier 
Community Center, 4600 36th Avenue South, Seattle, WA
Saturday, December 13, 1997, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Seattle 
Central Community College, 1701 Broadway, Room 1110, Seattle, WA
Saturday, December 13, 1997, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Foster 
High School Commons, 4242 S. 144th Street, Tukwila, WA
Wednesday, December 17, 1997, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Tyee High 
School Auditorium, 4424 South 188th Street, SeaTac, WA

A scoping meeting for governmental agencies will be held on Monday, 
December 8, 1997, between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the RTA, 1100 2nd 
Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101-3423. All the locations for the 
scoping meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. People 
with special needs should contact the RTA at the address below or by 
calling (206) 684-6776. A TDD number is also available: (206) 684-1394.
    Scoping meetings will be held in an ``open-house'' format. Project 
representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the 
entire meeting. Informational displays and written materials will also 
be available throughout the entire meeting. In addition to written 
comments, which may be made at the meeting or as described below, a 
stenographer will be available at the meeting to record oral comments.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to: 
Perry Weinberg, Environmental Compliance Manager, Regional Transit 
Authority, 1100 Second Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101-3423; fax 
number: (206) 689-3525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. F. William Fort, Transportation 
Program Specialist, Federal Transit Administration, Region X, 915 
Second Avenue, Room 3142, Seattle, WA 98174; phone number: (206) 220-
4461.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    The FTA and the RTA invite interested individuals, organizations, 
and federal, state, regional and local agencies to participate in 
defining the alternatives within the corridor to be evaluated in the 
EIS and identifying any significant, social, economic, or environmental 
issues related to the alternatives. An Environmental Scoping 
Information Report describing the project, the proposed alternatives, 
the impact areas to be evaluated, the public involvement program and 
the preliminary project schedule has been prepared. You may request a 
copy of the report by contacting the person identified above in the 
section FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Scoping comments may be made 
orally at the public scoping meetings or in writing. See DATES above 
for locations and times, and see the ADDRESSES section above for 
written comments. During scoping, comments should focus on identifying 
specific social, economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated

[[Page 61580]]

and suggesting alternatives that are more cost-effective or have fewer 
environmental impacts while achieving similar transit objectives.
    Scoping materials will be available at the meeting or in advance of 
the meeting by contacting the RTA at (206) 684-6776. If you wish to be 
placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the 
project proceeds, please contact the following at the RTA: Ron Endlich, 
LRT North Corridor Manager (206) 684-1634 or Jonathan Jackson, LRT 
South Corridor Manager (206) 684-6773.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

    The Central LRT Project study area is a north-south corridor, 
approximately 23 miles long between the Northgate area in north Seattle 
and SeaTac, Washington. The Central LRT Project will include a 
partially grade-separated, double-track light rail line on new right-
of-way. Conventional LRT low-floor vehicles are expected to be used. 
Service is expected to operate every 6 minutes in peak periods and 
every 8 minutes in off-peak times, 18 to 20 hours a day, seven days a 
week.
    A total of 21 LRT stations are proposed to serve the major transit 
markets of Northgate, the University District, Capitol Hill, First 
Hill, downtown Seattle, Southeast Seattle, and the cities of Tukwila 
and SeaTac. Light rail service will operate through downtown Seattle in 
the existing transit tunnel. Bus transfer facilities will be provided 
at each LRT station. Transfers to planned commuter rail service will 
take place at several selected stations.

III. Alternatives

    The alternatives proposed for evaluation include a variety of 
alignment alternatives for different segments of the corridor. In 
addition, various track profiles will be evaluated throughout the study 
area. Profiles include tunnel, surface and aerial sections.
    Beginning from the south, in the SeaTac segment two route alignment 
alternatives will be evaluated. One route follows International Blvd. 
(State Route 99) from S. 200th Street, north past Sea-Tac Airport to 
the intersection with SR-518. The other alignment starts from the same 
location at the south end of the City and follows 28th Street, using 
Sea-Tac Airport property traveling north to connect with the SR-99 
route.
    In the Tukwila segment, two alternative alignments will be 
evaluated. One alignment would use Pacific Highway South (State Route 
99) between the SeaTac city limits and Boeing Access Road. The second 
alignment would travel east from State Route 99 along State Route 518 
and continue east past Southcenter Mall. The line would proceed north 
along Interurban Avenue to I-5 at Boeing Access Road.
    In the southeast Seattle (Rainier Valley) segment, two alignment 
alternatives will be considered. One follows Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Way from Henderson Street north to McClellan Street. The other follows 
Rainier Avenue South between the same locations. Various combinations 
of these alignments may also be considered.
    Between South McClellan Street and the Downtown Seattle Transit 
Tunnel, two general alignments will be evaluated. One alignment would 
run north along Rainier Avenue past I-90, before heading west to 
connect with the existing International District tunnel station. The 
second alignment would explore the feasibility of tunneling under 
Beacon Hill, beginning just west of the intersection of Rainier Avenue 
and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. The route would connect with the 
existing E-3 busway at South Lander Street and would travel north to 
the International District tunnel station.
    From the north end of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel to the 
University District, two alignments will be evaluated. One alignment is 
a tunnel beginning under I-5 east of the existing Convention Place 
tunnel station. The tunnel would loop south to serve First Hill, then 
continue north under Broadway Avenue and 10th Avenue East. The tunnel 
would continue under Portage Bay and 15th Avenue Northeast in the 
University District. Another alignment would run north from the 
Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel at the Westlake Station underground 
through the Denny Regrade and the Seattle Center areas. The route would 
continue northeast through south Lake Union and the Eastlake/Fairview 
area, adjacent to I-5. The route would leave the tunnel north of SR-520 
and would cross the Ship Canal on a new high-level bridge parallel to 
the existing I-5 bridge. The route would continue east along Campus 
Parkway and reenter a tunnel under the University District.
    In the University District to Northgate segment, several 
alternative alignments will be considered for the segment between 
Ravenna Boulevard and N.E. 75th Street. These alternatives include 
alignments along 8th Avenue N.E., Roosevelt Way, and 12th Avenue N.E.
    The proposed Central LRT Project also includes construction of an 
LRT vehicle storage and maintenance facility. Alternative locations for 
the facility will be evaluated in the City of Tukwila, near Boeing 
Access Road and East Marginal Way South, and in Southeast Seattle, 
between Boeing Access Road and Henderson Street.
    The No-Build alternative, which involves no change to 
transportation services or facilities in the corridor beyond those 
currently programmed, will also be evaluated in the EIS.

IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts for Analysis

    The FTA and RTA plan to evaluate in the EIS all significant, 
social, economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives. 
Environmental and social impacts proposed for analysis include land use 
and neighborhood impacts, traffic and parking impacts near stations, 
traffic circulation, visual impacts, health and safety impacts, impacts 
on cultural and archaeological resources, impacts on wetland and 
parkland areas, and noise and vibration impacts. The impacts on natural 
areas, rare and endangered species, and earth, air and water quality, 
will also be covered. The impacts will be evaluated both for the 
construction period and for the long-term period of operations. 
Reasonable measures to mitigate adverse impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

    The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Preliminary 
Engineering (PE) for the Central Light Rail Transit Project will be 
conducted simultaneously. The locally preferred light rail transit mode 
and its general alignment were selected previously on the basis of the 
evaluation in the Major Investment Study (1997). The EIS/PE process 
will assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of 
alternative specific alignments, station locations and designs, and 
maintenance facility locations and designs to minimize and mitigate 
adverse impacts. A draft EIS will be published and made available for 
public and agency review and comment, and public hearings will be held. 
On the basis of the draft EIS and the comments received, the RTA will 
refine the project design and complete preliminary engineering and the 
final EIS.

    Issued: November 12, 1997.
Helen M. Knoll,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-30212 Filed 11-17-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P