30558 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Notices

(A); (6) ISTEA Reauthorization Update

(I/D); (7) President’s Report (I); (8)

National ITS Advanced Construction

and Maintenance Program Action Plan

(A); (9) DTAG Program Advice

Memorandum (A); (10) Professional

Capacity Building Update (I); (11)

Research Agenda Framework (I); (12)

ITS America Training Program Update

(I);(13) FCC Frequency Petition Update

(I); (14) Report on ITS World Congresses

(I/D); (15) Update on Board Governance

Policy Task Force (I); (16) Status of

Planning for 9th Annual Meeting (I);

(17) Coordinating Council Workshop

Report-out (A), (a) Role of the

Coordinating Council, (b) The IVI:

Review of the RFI Analysis, and Desired

Role of the Coordinating Council and

Committees in the Future, and (c)

ISTEA Reauthorization: Deployment

Policy; (18) Roundtable Discussion Of

Committee And Task Force Activities—

Committee And Task Force Chairs (I/D);

(19) Other Business.

ITS AMERICA provides a forum for

national discussion and

recommendations on ITS activities

including programs, research needs,

strategic planning, standards,

international liaison, and priorities. The

charter for the utilization of ITS

AMERICA establishes this organization

as an advisory committee under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act

(FACA), 5 USC app. 2, when it provides

advice or recommendations to DOT

officials on ITS policies and programs.

(56 FR 9400, March 6, 1991).

DATES: The Coordinating Council of ITS

AMERICA will meet on Wednesday,

July 8, 1998, from 10:20 a.m.—2

p.m.(Eastern Standard time).

ADDRESSES: Airlie Conference Center,

6809 Airlie Road, Warrenton, Virginia,

20187. Phone number: (540) 347–1300.

Fax number: (540) 341–3207.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Materials associated with this meeting

may be examined at the offices of ITS

AMERICA, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW.,

Suite 800, Washington, DC. 20024.

Persons needing further information or

to request to speak at this meeting

should contact Kenneth Faunteroy at

ITS AMERICA by telephone at (202)

484–4130, or by FAX at (202) 484–3483.

The DOT contact is Mary Pigott, FHWA,

HVH–1, Washington, D.C. 20590, (202)

366–9230. Office hours are from 8:30

a.m. to 5:00 p.m., e.t., Monday through

Friday, except for legal holidays.

(23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48)

Issued on: May 29, 1998.

Jeffrey Paniati,

Deputy Director, ITS Joint Program Office.

[FR Doc. 98–14770 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Major Investment Study/Environmental

Impact Statement on the Lower

Manhattan Access Alternatives Study

in New York County, NY

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration

(FTA) DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a

Major Investment Study/Environmental

Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) and the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

(MTA) intend to prepare a Major

Investment Study (MIS) and an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

in accordance with the FTA/Federal

Highway Administration’s Statewide

Planning, Metropolitan Planning

regulations under 23 CFR part 450 and

the National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and

implemented by the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ)

regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508) to

study transportation improvements for

access to the lower portion of

Manhattan in the City of New York.

This study will also comply with the

requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act

Amendments (CAAA). The MTA will

ensure that the EIS also satisfies the

requirements of the State of New York

Environmental Quality Review Act and

the City of New York Environmental

Quality Review Act.

The MIS/DEIS will investigate how

the transportation system serving Lower

Manhattan can be improved. Lower

Manhattan is an area that: (1) Is

experiencing growth in new sectors

(residential, recreation and tourist)

resulting in a changing mix of land uses

and activities; (2) is highly-dependent

on quality transit services for continued

economic viability; and (3) is perceived

to be difficult to access, particularly

from commuter railroad terminals in

Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The purpose of this Lower Manhattan

Access Alternatives MIS/DEIS study is

to (1) develop feasible, cost-effective,

and broadly beneficial transportation

solutions that can meet the area’s

transportation shortcomings; (2)

maintain or improve Lower Manhattan’s

environmental quality; and (3) provide

meaningful and significant

opportunities for business, civic and

community input throughout the study

process.

Among the alternatives that the MIS/

DEIS will evaluate are the No-Build

Alternative; Transportation System

Management (TSM) alternatives; high

quality shuttle services; new subway

services; extended commuter rail

services; and other new alternatives

generated through the scoping process.

Scoping will be accomplished through

correspondence with interested persons,

organizations, and federal, state and

local agencies, and afternoon and

evening public scoping meetings.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written

comments on the alternatives and

impacts to be considered should be sent

to the MTA by July 14, 1998. Written

comments on the project scope should

be sent to John D. Dean, Project

Manager, Metropolitan Transportation

Authority, 347 Madison Avenue (10th

Floor), New York, New York 10017.

Oral comments may also be provided at

the scoping meeting. Scoping Meetings:

Public scoping meetings will be held on:

• Thursday, June 18, 1998, 11:00 AM

to 1:00 PM at the U.S. Customs House,

1 Bowling Green, New York, New York

10041.

• Thursday, June 18, 1998, 5 PM to 7

PM, in the MTA Board Room, 347

Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York

, New York 10017.

• Tuesday, June 23, 1998, 5 PM to 7

PM, Social Services Auditorium, 101

County Seat Drive, Mineola, New York

11501.

• Wednesday, June 24, 1998, 5 PM to

7 PM, Westchester County Center, 198

Central Avenue, White Plains, New

York 10601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anthony Carr, Director, Office of

Planning and Program Development,

Federal Transit Administration, 26

Federal Plaza, Suite 2940, New York,

New York 10278. Phone: (212) 264–

8162, FAX (212) 264–8973.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

FTA and MTA invite all individuals,

organizations, and federal, state, and

local agencies to participate in defining

the alternatives to be evaluated in the

MIS/DEIS and identifying any

significant social, economic, or

environmental issues related to the

alternatives. A draft Scoping Document

will be prepared to describe the purpose

of the project, the proposed alternatives,

the impact areas to be evaluated, the

public involvement program, and the

preliminary project schedule. This
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Notices 30559

document will be mailed to affected

federal, state, and local agencies, and

will be provided upon request to

interested parties on record. The draft

Scoping Document may also be obtained

from John D. Dean, Project Manager,

Metropolitan Transportation Authority,

347 Madison Avenue, New York, New

York 10017 or downloaded from the

project website

[www.lowermanhattan.com]. Scoping

comments may be made verbally at the

public scoping meetings, or in writing.

See the DATES section above for

locations and times. During the scoping

phase of the project, 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 while

achieving similar transit objectives.

Scoping is not the appropriate forum in

which to indicate a preference for a

particular alternative. Anyone wishing

to be placed on the mailing list to

receive further information should

contact John D. Dean of the MTA as

previously described.

II. Description of Study Area and

Project Need

The core study area is Lower

Manhattan south of the following

streets: beginning at the Hudson River,

east along Chambers Street, north along

West Broadway, east along Worth Street,

south along St. James Place, and east

along Dover Street (Brooklyn Bridge) to

the East River. These study area

boundaries provide a rough guide, and

are to be considered flexible and

dependent on the outcome of the

scoping process. The study area

includes key business locations such as

the World Trade Center and World

Financial Center; Wall Street and Water

Street corridor; civic sites such as City

Hall, Federal Plaza, and Foley Square;

historic and recreational areas such as

South Street Seaport, Federal Hall, and

the Battery; and growing residential

areas such as Southbridge Towers,

Battery Park City, and new residential

conversions of former commercial space

east of Broad Street.

This study will examine three

primary access corridors that link New

York’s northern and eastern suburbs to

the Lower Manhattan ‘‘core area.’’ These

corridors can be summarized as being

(1) on the eastside of Manhattan, largely

from the Grand Central Terminal area;

(2) on the west side of Manhattan, from

the Penn Station/Port Authority Bus

Terminal area, and (3) across the East

River, from the Atlantic Terminal

Complex in downtown Brooklyn. Other

reasonable access corridors identified in

the scoping process will also be

considered.

The purpose of the MIS/DEIS process

is, in coordination with a regional

framework of transportation studies, to

thoroughly examine the short and long

term needs and available options for

improving transportation access to

Lower Manhattan, and to identify a

preferred investment strategy that will

address the study area’s transportation

needs in a cost-effective, equitable, and

publicly acceptable manner. This study

will consider the findings, conclusions,

and recommendations of other recent

and contemporary regional

transportation studies and data

gathering efforts, and closely coordinate

with these ongoing studies.

III. Alternatives

Current Alternatives proposed for

evaluation include: (1) No-Build, which

involves no change to transportation

services or facilities in the study area

beyond already committed projects; (2)

The Transportation System Management

(TSM) alternative, which consists of

low-to-medium cost improvements that

address both short and long term needs;

(3) High Quality Shuttle Service from

Grand Central Terminal and/or Jamaica

Station to Lower Manhattan using

newly constructed and/or existing rights

of way, such as the BMT Broadway Line

or the LIRR Atlantic Branch; (4) New

Subway Service including potential

construction of the Second Avenue

Subway to Lower Manhattan; and (5)

Extended Commuter Rail from Grand

Central Terminal and/or Jamaica to

Lower Manhattan using newly

constructed and/or existing rights of

way. Other reasonable alternatives

proposed during the scoping process

would also be considered.

IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts

for Analysis

The MIS/DEIS will evaluate all

significant social, economic and

environmental impacts of the proposed

alternatives. Among the issues to be

investigated in the study area and its

access corridors are the potential

increase in transit ridership on the

current system, the expected increase in

mobility, the capital outlays needed to

construct the project improvements, and

the cost of operating and maintaining

the facilities created by the project.

Social and environmental impacts

proposed for analysis include land use

and urban development impacts, visual

impacts, impacts on cultural and open

space resources, health and safety

impacts, and noise and vibration

impacts. Impacts on natural areas,

geologic forms, air quality, groundwater,

and hazardous materials will also be

analyzed. The impacts will be evaluated

both for the construction period and for

the long-term period of operation.

Impacts to the markets outside the core

study area and the access corridors will

also be examined where it is appropriate

(i.e. traffic and parking near suburban

rail stations). Measures to mitigate

significant adverse impacts will be

considered.

IV. FTA Procedures

In accordance with Federal Transit

Laws and FTA regulations and policies,

the MIS/DEIS will include an evaluation

of the social, economic, and

environmental impacts of the

alternatives. After its publication, the

MIS/DEIS will be available for public

and agency review and comment, and a

public hearing will be held. On the basis

of the MIS/DEIS and the public and

agency comments received, the MTA

will select a locally preferred alternative

for a major investment strategy. The

locally preferred alternative will then be

presented to the Metropolitan Planning

Organization (MPO) for affirmation and

inclusion into the Regional

Transportation Plan (RTP) and

Transportation Improvement Program

(TIP).

Issued on: May 29, 1998.

Letitia Thompson,

Regional Administrator, Federal Transit

Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–14768 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33601]

Grand Trunk Western Railroad

Incorporated—Petition for Declaratory

Order—Spur, Industrial, Team,

Switching or Side Tracks, in Detroit, MI

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation

Board (Board) is instituting a

declaratory order proceeding and is

requesting comments on the petition of

Grand Trunk Western Railroad, Inc.

(GTW), for an order declaring that

certain tracks located near the

Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI, are

‘‘spur, industrial, team, switching, or

side tracks’’ under the regulatory

exemption at 49 U.S.C. 10906.

DATES: Any interested person may file

with the Board written comments

concerning GTW’s petition by July 2,

1998. GTW may reply by July 16, 1998.