[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 190 (Friday, September 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58603-58605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24863]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for Transportation Improvements 
Within the West Corridor, Charlotte, NC

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Federal lead 
agency, and the City of Charlotte, the local lead agency, intend to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for transportation 
improvements within the proposed West Corridor in Mecklenburg County, 
North Carolina. The study corridor of approximately 12 miles extends 
from Uptown Charlotte (the center city) in Mecklenburg County to the 
Catawba River that forms the border between Mecklenburg and Gaston 
Counties. There is a possibility that the corridor may be extended an 
additional 16 miles to the West, to the City of Gastonia in Gaston 
County.
    The Charlotte-Mecklenburg region is developing an integrated land 
use and supportive transit plan. Building on the 2025 Integrated 
Transit/ Land Use Plan for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, four corridor Major 
Investment Studies (MISs) are being prepared for the North, Northeast 
(University), Southeast (Independence), and West (Airport) corridors. A 
previously-prepared MIS for the South Corridor resulted in a light rail 
transit project for that corridor.
    The EIS will be prepared following completion of a MIS for the West

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Corridor. The West Corridor MIS will evaluate the land use, mobility, 
and environmental benefits, costs and impacts of various land use and 
transportation alternatives. The MIS will evaluate the following 
alternatives: a No-Build alternative; a Transportation System 
Management alternative consisting of low to medium cost improvements to 
the facilities and operation of local bus services (Charlotte Area 
Transit System) in addition to currently planned transit improvements 
in the study corridor; and multiple ``Build'' alternatives including 
bus rapid transit, various types of rail transit facilities, and 
combinations of these types of transit services, as well as alternative 
land use scenarios. (See Section III. Alternatives for additional 
information).
    The sequence of events for the planning and development for this 
project include the following major milestones:
    Scoping Process--early opportunity for public input to the study 
scope, including alternatives and issues to be evaluated.
    Major Investment Study (MIS)--evaluation of proposed improvement 
alternatives, early consideration of environmental factors, concluding 
with the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).
    Preliminary Engineering/Environmental Impact Statement (PE/EIS)--
detailed definition of the LPA, evaluation of design options, 
assessment of potential impacts, development of mitigation measures, 
preparation and circulation of the Draft EIS, public meetings, and 
completion of a Final EIS.
    Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested 
persons, organizations, and federal, state, and local agencies, and 
through public and agency meetings.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives 
and impacts to be considered should be sent to Catondra Noye, Project 
Manager, Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), by October 16, 2000. See 
ADDRESSES below. Scoping Meetings:
    Public scoping meetings will be held on:

Monday, September 18, 2000, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm; Adams Service Center, 
4150 Wilkinson Blvd., Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, September 27, 2000, 6:30 pm--9:00 pm; Charlotte-Mecklenburg 
Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St, Charlotte, NC 28202 (Joint meeting 
with all corridors--Center City focus)

    Scoping material will be available at the meeting or in advance of 
the meeting by contacting Catondra Noye at CATS.
    An agency scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 27, 
2000, 10 am to 1 pm at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. See 
ADDRESSES below.
    Scoping is being conducted for three other related corridors--
Northeast (University), Southeast (Independence), and North--in the 
Charlotte-Mecklenburg region at approximately the same time with 
separate public scoping meetings, as published in separate Notices of 
Intent. The agency scoping meeting for the West Corridor will be held 
in conjunction with the three other corridors to address inter-related 
issues and coordination.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to 
be studied should be sent to Catondra Noye, CATS Project Manager, City 
of Charlotte, 600 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC 28202-2858. Public 
scoping meetings will be held at the following locations: Adams Service 
Center, 4150 Wilkinson Boulevard, Charlotte, NC and the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 East Fourth St., Charlotte, NC 
28202. See DATES above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Myra Immings, Federal Transit 
Administration, Region IV, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Suite 17T50, Atlanta, 
GA 30303; Telephone (404) 562-3508.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    The FTA and the City of Charlotte invite interested individuals, 
organizations, and federal, state and local agencies to participate in 
defining the alternative transit modes and alignments to be evaluated 
and identifying any significant social, economic, or environmental 
issues related to the alternatives. Primary issues to be considered 
include the changes in land uses and future development as they relate 
to alternative transit systems. Specific suggestions related to 
additional alternatives to be examined and issues to be addressed are 
welcome and will be considered in the final scope of the project. 
Scoping comments may be made at the scoping meetings or in writing no 
later than October 16, 2000. (see DATES and ADDRESSES above). During 
scoping, comments should focus on identifying specific social, 
economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated, and suggesting 
alternatives that are less costly or less environmentally damaging 
which achieve similar transit objectives. Comments should focus on the 
issues and alternatives for analysis, and not on a preference for a 
particular alternative.
    An information packet, referred to as the Scoping Booklet, will be 
circulated to all Federal, State, and local agencies with jurisdiction 
in the project area. Scoping materials will be available at the meeting 
or in advance of the meeting by contacting the Charlotte Area Transit 
System as indicated above. If you wish to be placed on the mailing list 
to receive further information as the project continues contact 
Catondra Noye at the Charlotte Area Transit System (see ADDRESSES 
above).

II. Description of Corridor and Project Need

    The West Corridor project is a direct outgrowth of prior transit 
planning activities for the region. The 2025 Integrated Transit/Land 
Use Plan for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, developed in 1998, identified key 
centers of economic activity and the five major transportation 
corridors in the Charlotte region. The 2025 Plan calls for 
concentrating development along these corridors and proposes a rapid 
transit system as a means to support land use initiatives to attain 
this vision in order to sustain economic growth and protect citizens' 
quality of life. The 2025 Plan identified the West Corridor as a 
priority transit corridor based on current and future mobility needs, 
cost feasibility and potential ridership.
    The proposed project corridor extends approximately 12 miles from 
Uptown Charlotte (the center city) in Mecklenburg County to the Catawba 
River that forms the boundary between Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties. 
The corridor is primarily served by I-85, Wilkinson Boulevard (US 29/
74) and West Boulevard (NC 160) and includes the Norfolk Southern rail 
line. From the West, the corridor passes through less developed 
portions of Mecklenburg County, with some newer residential located 
near the future I-485 freeway. Between I-485 and US 521, the corridor 
consists of newer residential development north of I-85, while the 
airport and industrial development is the primary land use south of I-
85. East of US 521 the corridor consists of older residential areas 
with mostly low income and minority residents. Outside of the airport 
area, the corridor does not contain a great deal of office or other 
employment. The corridor also contains little retail development, with 
only some older shopping centers along US 74/29 and NC 27, some of 
which are partially or completely vacant.
    Interstate 85 is currently a divided four-lane to six-lane highway 
within the study area and has an annual average

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daily traffic volume of as many as 90,000 vehicles per day in 1997. 
This facility experiences serious congestion and delays particularly 
during peak travel times and is considered to be a major transportation 
problem facing this rapidly growing region. Based upon current trends, 
traffic on I-85 will grow to over 216,000 vehicles by the year 2015. 
Currently, I-85 has a level of service of C or D and there are no 
planned or programmed improvements for I-85 within the West Corridor. 
Therefore, a substantial portion of this facility will still experience 
severe congestion by the year 2015.
    Future growth projections for the region estimate a population 
increase of 57 percent and a 47 percent increase in employment by the 
year 2025. Current and anticipated growth in the Airport area will 
further increase demand for transportation services into, through and 
within the corridor.
    The Charlotte Metropolitan Area has exceeded the Environmental 
Protection Agency's 1-hour and 8-hour standard for ozone each of the 
past three years. These violations will likely result in the County 
being designated as a non-attainment area for ozone, which will be 
officially stated by US EPA early next year. The primary contributor of 
air pollutants in the region is mobile emissions.

III. Alternatives

    The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) No-Build, 
which involves no change to transportation service or facilities in the 
corridor beyond already committed projects; (2) a Transportation System 
Management alternative, which consists of low to medium cost 
improvements to the operations of the local bus service, the Charlotte 
Area Transit System, in addition to the currently planned transit 
improvements in the corridor; and (3) multiple ``Build'' alternatives 
including bus rapid transit (BRT) facilities along the I-85/Wilkinson 
Blvd. corridor and light rail transit (LRT) generally following the 
existing Norfolk Southern railroad right-of-way and/or major arterials 
within the study corridor. The ``Build'' alternatives may include 
alternative land use scenarios to evaluate the potential for focusing 
development around transit stations. Additional reasonable alternatives 
suggested through the scoping process may also be considered.

IV. Probable Effects

    FTA and the City of Charlotte will identify potentially significant 
social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with the 
alternatives considered in the MIS. The primary environmental issues to 
be considered include potential impacts to air quality, noise and 
vibration, historical and archaeological resources, visual quality, 
wetlands, natural areas, rare and endangered species, water quality and 
potential contamination sites. The primary social and economic impacts 
proposed for analysis in the MIS include potential changes in land use 
and future developments, neighborhood and community resource impacts, 
relocations and displacement impacts, and traffic impacts throughout 
the project corridor. In addition, both beneficial and adverse impacts 
to minority and low-income groups will be evaluated. The impacts will 
be evaluated both for the construction period and for the long-term 
period of operation. Potential measures to mitigate any significant 
adverse impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

    In accordance with the federal transportation planning regulations 
(23 CFR part 450), the MIS will be prepared to include an evaluation of 
the social, economic, environmental impacts and benefits of the 
alternatives. The MIS will consider the public and agency comments 
received. At the conclusion of the MIS, the Metropolitan Transit 
Commission will select the preferred mode and general alignment 
alternative for the West Corridor (the LPA). Once the LPA has been 
included in the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization's 
adopted long-range transportation plan, this project and associated 
alignment, design, and other options will be further studied in the 
Preliminary Engineering/Environmental Impact Statement (PE/EIS) phase 
of project development. Opportunities for agency and public involvement 
will be provided throughout the MIS and PE/EIS phases.

    Dated: September 22, 2000.
Jerry Franklin,
FTA Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 00-24863 Filed 9-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P