[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 190 (Friday, September 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58601-58603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24862]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for Transportation Improvements 
Within the Southeast 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 Southeast Corridor in Mecklenburg 
County, North Carolina. The study corridor of approximately 13.5 miles 
extends from Uptown Charlotte (the center city) in Mecklenburg County 
to the border with Union County to the south.
    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 
Southeast Corridor. The Southeast 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

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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, by October 16, 2000. See 
ADDRESSES below. Scoping Meetings:
    Public scoping meetings will be held on:

Tuesday, September 21, 2000, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm: Cokesbury United 
Methodist Church, 6701 Idlewild Road, Charlotte, NC
Thursday, September 26, 2000, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm: Matthews 
Community Center, 200 McDowell Street, Matthews, 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), North, and West (Airport)--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 Southeast 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, City of Charlotte, 600 East 
Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC 28202-2858. Public scoping meetings will 
be held at the following locations: The Cokesbury United Methodist 
Church, 6701 Idlewild Road, Charlotte, NC; the Matthews Community 
Center, 200 McDowell Street, Matthews, NC; and the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. 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 City of Charlotte 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 Southeast 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 Southeast 
Corridor as a high-priority transit corridor based on current and 
future mobility needs, cost feasibility and potential ridership.
    The proposed project corridor extends approximately 13.5 miles from 
Uptown Charlotte (the center city) in Mecklenburg County to the 
Mecklenburg County border with Union County to the south, includes 
portions of the Town of Matthews and is generally one to two miles 
wide. Approximately the first 10 miles of the corridor from Uptown is 
within the City of Charlotte, while the rest of the corridor 
(approximately 3.5 miles) lies within the Town of Matthews or 
unincorporated Mecklenburg County. The corridor is primarily served by 
two major thoroughfares, Independence Boulevard (US 74) and 7th Street/
Monroe Road/John Street (State Route 1009). US 74 is a multi-lane, 
limited access freeway from I-277 to Briar Creek Road (approximately 
two miles). East of Briar Creek Road US 74 is a multi-lane divided road 
until I-485, where it becomes limited access again. The freeway portion 
of US 74 contains a reversible High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane, which 
is currently being used as an exclusive two-way busway for express bus 
service. SR 1009 is a multi-lane road. CSX Transportation also owns and 
operates a double track main line railroad through the corridor. From 
the west (Uptown Charlotte), the corridor includes parts of Charlotte's 
historic neighborhoods of Elizabeth, Colonial Heights, Chantilly and 
Commonwealth-Morningside. These areas also include the main campus of 
Central Piedmont Community College and Presbyterian Hospital. East of 
these neighborhoods, the corridor passes the Independence Arena, 
Merchandise Mart and Ovens Auditorium. East of Wendover Road/Eastway 
Drive the corridor contains a mix of non-

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residential uses along SR 1009 and older retail centers along US 74 
with residential properties located behind the retail. Further east, 
development along US 74 continues to consist of shopping centers, along 
with some offices and residential (mostly apartments) fronting the 
highway and residential areas located behind the strip developments. SR 
1009 passes through office and light industrial uses located along the 
CSX railroad while there are residential areas east of Idlewild. Near 
Sardis Road North and McAlpine Creek, the Crown Point area contains 
almost exclusively retail, some office and some residential development 
south of SR 1009. Adjacent to Crown Point, the Town of Matthews 
consists of mostly industrial, warehouses, residential, some retail, a 
hospital, an active compact historic downtown, and some of the largest 
tracts of undeveloped land in the corridor.
    Independence Boulevard (US 74) is currently a divided four-lane to 
six-lane highway within the study area and has an annual average daily 
traffic volume of as many as 107,000 vehicles per day in the year 1998. 
This facility experiences severe congestion and delays throughout the 
day and is considered to be one of the major transportation problems 
facing this rapidly growing region. Currently, Independence Blvd. is 
rated as having very poor mobility with a projected 50 percent increase 
in traffic volumes for the year 2020. The thoroughfare plan calls for 
the freeway/HOV to be extended 1.5 miles to Albemarle Road within the 
next five years. According to the State Transportation Improvement 
Plan, the freeway and possible HOV lane may be extended the entire 
length of the corridor sometime after 2005. However, even with these 
roadway improvements, 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. Portions of the Southeast Corridor study area are among the 
fastest-growing communities in the state.
    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 Independence 
Blvd. corridor and various modes of rail service including commuter 
rail and light rail transit (LRT) generally following the existing CSX 
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 Southeast 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. 00-24862 Filed 9-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P