Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 12445 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

Issued in Washington, DC on March 18, 

2009. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–6400 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement for Proposed Transit 

Improvements in the Regional 

Connector Transit Corridor, Los 

Angeles, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) and the Los 

Angeles County Metropolitan 

Transportation Authority (LACMTA) 

intends to prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) for the Regional 

Connector Transit Corridor Project in 

Los Angeles County, California. 

LACMTA operates the Metro transit 

system in Los Angeles County. The 

proposed project would provide a direct 

link connecting several light rail service 

lines in operation or in construction 

through downtown Los Angeles, CA. 

The project area lies entirely within 

the City of Los Angeles and is within 

the densely developed downtown core 

that includes multi-family residences, 

industrial and public lands, commercial 

and retail establishments, government 

office buildings, and private high-rise 

office towers. 

The EIS will be prepared in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and its implementing 

regulations. LACMTA will also use the 

EIS document to comply with the 

California Environmental Quality Act 

(CEQA), which requires an 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The 

purpose of this notice is to alert 

interested parties regarding the intent to 

prepare the EIS, to provide information 

on the nature of the proposed project 

and possible alternatives, to invite 

public participation in the EIS process 

(including providing comments on the 

scope of the Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (DEIS), to announce that 

public scoping meetings will be 

conducted, and to identify participating 

and cooperating agency contacts. 

DATES: Written comments on the scope 

of the EIS, including the project’s 

purpose and need, the alternatives to be 

considered, the impacts to be evaluated, 

and the methodologies to be used in the 

evaluations should be sent to LACMTA 

on or before May 11, 2009 at the address 

below. See ADDRESSES below for the 

address to which written public 

comments may be sent. Public scoping 

meetings to accept comments on the 

scope of the EIS/EIR will be held on the 

following dates: 

• Monday, March 30, 2009; 4:30 p.m. 

to 6 p.m.; at the University of Southern 

California (USC), Alumni Room, 

Davidson Conference Center, 3415 S 

Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007. 

• Tuesday, March 31, 2009; 6:30 p.m. 

to 8 p.m.; at the Lake Avenue Church, 

393 N Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 

91101. 

• Wednesday, April 1, 2009; 6:30 

p.m. to 8 p.m.; at the Japanese American 

National Museum (JANM), 369 E 1st 

Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. 

• Thursday, April 2, 2009; Noon to 

1:30 p.m.; at the Los Angeles Central 

Library, Board Room, 630 W 5th Street, 

Los Angeles, CA 90071. 

The project’s purpose and need and 

the description of alternatives for the 

proposed project will be presented at 

these meetings. The buildings used for 

the scoping meetings are accessible to 

persons with disabilities. Any 

individual who requires special 

assistance, such as a sign language 

interpreter, to participate in the scoping 

meeting should contact Ms. Ann 

Kerman, Community Relations Manager, 

LACMTA, at (213) 922–7671, or 

kermana@metro.net. 

Scoping materials will be available at 

the meetings and on the LACMTA Web 

site (http://www.metro.net/ 

regionalconnector). Paper copies of the 

scoping materials may also be obtained 

from Ms. Ann Kerman, Community 

Relations Manager, LACMTA, at (213) 

922–7671, or kermana@metro.net. An 

interagency scoping meeting will be 

held on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 

1:30 p.m. at LACMTA, in the Gateway 

Plaza Room, One Gateway Plaza, Los 

Angeles, CA 90012. Representatives of 

Native American tribal governments and 

of all Federal, State, regional and local 

agencies that may have an interest in 

any aspect of the project will be invited 

to be participating or cooperating 

agencies, as appropriate. 

ADDRESSES: Comments will be accepted 

at the public scoping meetings or they 

may be sent to Ms. Dolores Roybal 

Saltarelli, AICP, Project Manager, Los 

Angeles County Metropolitan 

Transportation Authority, One Gateway 

Plaza, Mail Stop? Los Angeles, CA 

90012, or via e-mail at 

roybald@metro.net. The locations of the 

public scoping meetings are given above 

under DATES. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Ray Tellis, Team Leader, Los Angeles 

Metropolitan Office, Federal Transit 

Administration, 888 South Figueroa 

Street, Suite 1850, Los Angeles, CA 

90017, phone (213) 202–3950, e-mail 

ray.tellis@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scoping 

The FTA and LACMTA invite all 

interested individuals and 

organizations, public agencies, and 

Native American Tribes to comment on 

the scope of the EIS, including the 

project’s purpose and need, the 

alternatives to be studied, the impacts to 

be evaluated, and the evaluation 

methods to be used. Comments should 

focus on: Alternatives that may be less 

costly or have less environmental or 

community impacts while achieving 

similar transportation objectives, and 

the identification of any significant 

social, economic, or environmental 

issues relating to the alternatives. 

Project Initiation 

The FTA and LACMTA will prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) 

for the Regional Connector Transit 

Corridor pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139 and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA). LACMTA is serving as the 

local lead agency for purposes of CEQA 

environmental clearance, and FTA is 

serving as the federal lead agency for 

purposes of National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) environmental 

clearance. This notice shall alert 

interested parties to the preparation of 

the EIS/EIR, describe the alternatives 

under consideration, invite public 

participation in the EIS/EIR process, 

and announce the public scoping 

meetings. FTA and LACMTA will invite 

interested Federal, State, tribal, regional 

and local government agencies to be 

participating agencies under the 

provisions of section 6002 of 

SAFETEA–LU. 

Purpose and Need for the Project 

The purpose of this project is to 

improve the region’s public transit 

service and mobility. The overall goal of 

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12446 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 

the project is to improve mobility 

within the corridor by connecting to the 

light rail service of the Metro Gold Line 

to Pasadena, the Metro Gold Line 

Eastside Extension, the Metro Blue Line, 

and the Metro Expo Line. This link 

would serve communities across the 

region, allowing greater accessibility 

while serving population and 

employment growth in downtown Los 

Angeles. Mobility issues throughout the 

region and the identified need to join 

the unconnected segments of the light 

rail system have been documented in 

several past studies, including the 

Pasadena—Los Angeles Light Rail 

Transit Project Environmental Impact 

Report (1993), the Blue Line Connection 

Preliminary Planning Study (1993), and 

the Regional Light Rail Connector Study 

(2004). 

Additional considerations supporting 

the need for the Regional Connector 

Transit Corridor project include: 

Increased travel times and station 

overcrowding occurring due to multiple 

transfers required to traverse the project 

area; a project area that has many transit 

dependent residents; poor system 

connectivity that results in reduced 

system schedule reliability as current 

system expansions are completed; and 

investments within the project area 

could improve system-wide operations 

in regards to travel times and safety 

issues. 

Project Location and Environmental 

Setting 

The proposed light rail transit (LRT) 

project lies entirely within the City of 

Los Angeles and is generally bounded 

by U.S. Highway 101 on the north, 7th 

and 9th Streets on the south, Alameda 

Street on the east, and State Route 110 

on the west. Project length is just under 

two miles and the LRT alternatives 

would have up to four stations plus 

ancillary facilities including power 

substations. The project area is the 

largest regional employment center in 

Los Angeles County, and is densely 

developed with multi-family residences, 

industrial and public lands, commercial 

and retail establishments, government 

office buildings, and private high-rise 

office towers. 

The proposed Regional Connector 

project would provide a direct link 

connecting several light rail service 

lines in operation or in construction 

(i.e., the Metro Gold Line to Pasadena, 

the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, 

the Metro Blue Line, and the Metro 

Expo Line). The proposed project would 

create a connection in downtown Los 

Angeles that would link the Metro Blue 

and Expo Lines termini at 7th Street/ 

Metro Center Station (7th Street and 

Flower Street) to the Metro Gold Line 

(Pasadena and Eastside) at the Little 

Tokyo/Arts District Station at 1st Street 

and Alameda Street. This connection 

would provide through service between 

the Metro Blue Line to Long Beach, the 

Metro Gold Line to Pasadena and East 

Los Angeles, and the Metro Expo Line 

to Culver City. With the implementation 

of the Regional Connector project, these 

four lines would share tracks and 

stations in downtown Los Angeles. 

The various alternatives to be 

considered for the Regional Connector 

project generally traverse Flower Street 

north from 7th Street, 2nd Street 

between Flower and Alameda, Main and 

Los Angeles Streets between Temple 

Street and 2nd Street, Temple Street 

between City Hall and Alameda Street, 

and Alameda Street between U.S. 

Highway 101 and 2nd Street. 

Alternatives 

The Regional Connector Transit 

Corridor Final Alternatives Analysis 

Report (2009) prepared by LACMTA 

identified four alternatives for further 

consideration in the EIS/EIR. The four 

alternatives include: A No-Build 

Alternative, Transportation System 

Management (TSM) Alternative, AtGrade Emphasis LRT Alternative, and 

Underground Emphasis LRT 

Alternative. 

No-Build Alternative: The No Build 

Alternative would maintain existing 

transit service through the year 2030. No 

new transportation infrastructure would 

be built within the project area aside 

from projects currently under 

construction, or funded for construction 

and operation by 2030 by recently 

approved Measure R sales tax. Bus 

transit service under the No Build 

Alternative would be focused on the 

preservation of existing services and 

projects. By the projection year of 2030, 

some bus service would have been 

reorganized and expanded to provide 

connections with the new rail lines; 

however, the transit network within the 

project area would largely be the same 

as it is now. 

Transportation Systems Management 

(TSM) Alternative: The TSM Alternative 

would include the provisions of the No 

Build Alternative and add two shuttle 

bus routes from 7th Street/Metro Center 

station to Union Station providing a link 

between the region’s unconnected LRT 

services, one along Grand Ave. and 1st 

St., and one along Figueroa, Flower, 

2nd, and 3rd Streets. The shuttle buses 

would use existing bus-only lanes, 

where available, and would be fitted 

with transit-priority signalization 

devices similar to those used on Metro 

Rapid. Stops would be located every 

few blocks so as to provide full coverage 

of the area. Each shuttle route would be 

one and one-half to two miles in length. 

At-Grade Emphasis LRT Alternative: 

This alternative would extend from the 

underground 7th Street/Metro Center 

Station, head north under Flower Street, 

surface to at-grade north of 5th Street, 

cross 3rd Street, enter Bunker Hill, and 

turn northeast through a new entrance 

to the existing 2nd Street tunnel. The 

alignment would continue along 2nd 

Street where it would split into an atgrade couplet configuration on Main 

and Los Angeles Streets (one track on 

each roadway) to Temple Street. Then it 

would head east on Temple Street and 

realign into a dual track configuration 

just north of the Metro Gold Line Little 

Tokyo/Arts District Station on Alameda 

Street. Due to the high volume of trains 

that would traverse the Regional 

Connector, an automobile underpass 

and pedestrian overpass would be 

constructed at the intersection of 

Temple and Alameda Streets to 

eliminate pedestrian-train and 

automobile-train conflicts. 

There are two options for the 

configuration on Flower Street. For 

Option A, trains would transition to 

underground tracks after crossing 3rd 

Street and continue to a new 

underground station just south of 5th 

Street, then proceed to the 7th Street/ 

Metro Center Station and arrive at the 

existing Metro Blue Line platform. For 

Option B, trains would arrive at an atgrade station after crossing 3rd Street, 

then transition to underground tracks 

near 4th Street to reach the existing 

Metro Blue Line platform at 7th Street/ 

Metro Center station. In total, the AtGrade Emphasis LRT Alternative would 

add 1.8 miles of new double track to the 

light rail system. 

In addition to the Option A and 

Option B Station configurations, other 

station locations would include a 

station adjacent to Bunker Hill, south of 

2nd Street and Hope Street, and a split 

station using Main and Los Angeles 

Streets between 1st and Temple Streets. 

A fourth optional station on 2nd Street 

between Broadway and Los Angeles 

Street will be analyzed. 

Underground Emphasis LRT 

Alternative: From the 7th Street/Metro 

Center Station, this alternative would 

extend north along Flower Street with a 

new underground station north of 5th 

Street. At 2nd Street, the underground 

tunnel would extend east with new 

underground stations to provide access 

to Bunker Hill and to the area between 

Los Angeles Street and Broadway. The 

tunnel would emerge to at-grade 

connections just southwest of the 

intersection of 1st and Alameda Streets. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 12447 

At 1st and Alameda Streets, a new 

underpass would carry car and truck 

traffic along Alameda Street below the 

rail junction, and a new overhead 

pedestrian bridge structure would 

eliminate most conflicts between 

pedestrians and trains. This Alternative 

would have a single at-grade crossing at 

the intersection of 1st and Alameda 

Streets. The rest of the route would be 

underground. The length of this 

proposed route would be 1.6 miles. 

Station locations for this alternative 

would all be underground and include 

the area north of 5th Street on Flower 

Street, adjacent to Bunker Hill just south 

of 2nd Street and 2nd Street between 

Los Angeles and Main Streets. 

Probable Effects 

The purpose of this EIS/EIR process is 

to study, in a public setting, the effects 

of the proposed project and its 

alternatives on the physical, human, 

and natural environment. The FTA and 

LACMTA will evaluate all significant 

environmental, social, and economic 

impacts of the construction and 

operation of the proposed project. 

Impact areas to be addressed include: 

transportation, land use, zoning and 

economic development, secondary 

development, land acquisition, 

displacements and relocations, cultural 

resources (including historical, 

archaeological, and paleontological 

resources), parklands/recreational 

facilities, neighborhood compatibility 

and environmental justice, visual and 

aesthetic impacts, natural resources 

(including air quality, noise and 

vibration, wetlands, water resources, 

geology/soils, and hazardous materials), 

energy use, safety and security, wildlife, 

and ecosystems. Measures to avoid, 

minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts 

will be identified and evaluated. 

FTA Procedures 

The regulations implementing NEPA, 

as well as provisions of the Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users (SAFETEA–LU), call for public 

involvement in the EIS process. Section 

6002 of SAFETEA–LU requires that FTA 

and LACMTA do the following: (1) 

Extend an invitation to other Federal 

and non-Federal agencies and Native 

American tribes that may have an 

interest in the proposed project to 

become ‘‘participating agencies;’’ (2) 

provide an opportunity for involvement 

by participating agencies and the public 

to help define the purpose and need for 

a proposed project, as well as the range 

of alternatives for consideration in the 

EIS; and (3) establish a plan for 

coordinating public and agency 

participation in, and comment on, the 

environmental review process. An 

invitation to become a participating or 

cooperating agency, with scoping 

materials appended, will be extended to 

other Federal and non-Federal agencies 

and Native American tribes that may 

have an interest in the proposed project. 

It is possible that FTA and LACMTA 

will not be able to identify all Federal 

and non-Federal agencies and Native 

American tribes that may have such an 

interest. Any Federal or non-Federal 

agency or Native American tribe 

interested in the proposed project that 

does not receive an invitation to become 

a participating agency should notify at 

the earliest opportunity the Project 

Manager identified above under 

ADDRESSES. 

A comprehensive public involvement 

program and a Coordination Plan for 

public and interagency involvement 

will be developed for the project and 

posted on LACMTA’s Web site 

(Regional Connector Transit Corridor 

Project Web page: http:// 

www.metro.net/regionalconnector). The 

public involvement program includes a 

full range of activities including the 

project Web page on the LACMTA Web 

site, development and distribution of 

project newsletters, and outreach to 

local officials, community and civic 

groups, and the public. Specific 

activities or events for involvement will 

be detailed in the public involvement 

program. 

LACMTA may seek New Starts 

funding for the proposed project under 

49 United States Code 5309 and will, 

therefore, be subject to New Starts 

regulations (49 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) part 611). The New 

Starts regulations also require the 

submission of certain projectjustification information to support a 

request to initiate preliminary 

engineering. This information is 

normally developed in conjunction with 

the NEPA process. Pertinent New Starts 

evaluation criteria will be included in 

the EIS. 

The EIS will be prepared in 

accordance with NEPA and its 

implementing regulations issued by the 

Council on Environmental Quality (40 

CFR parts 1500–1508) and with the 

FTA/Federal Highway Administration 

regulations ‘‘Environmental Impact and 

Related Procedures’’ (23 CFR part 771). 

In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a) 

and 771.133, FTA will comply with all 

Federal environmental laws, 

regulations, and executive orders 

applicable to the proposed project 

during the environmental review 

process to the maximum extent 

practicable. These requirements 

include, but are not limited to, the 

environmental and public hearing 

provisions of Federal transit laws (49 

U.S.C. 5301(e), 5323(b), and 5324); the 

project-level air quality conformity 

regulation of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR part 

93); the section 404(b)(1) guidelines of 

EPA (40 CFR part 230); the regulation 

implementing section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act (36 

CFR part 800); the regulation 

implementing section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act (50 CFR part 

402); section 4(f) of the Department of 

Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135); 

and Executive Orders 12898 on 

environmental justice, 11988 on 

floodplain management, and 11990 on 

wetlands. 

Issued on: March 19, 2009. 

Leslie T. Rogers, 

Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal 

Transit Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–6421 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Solicitation of Comments and Notice of 

Availability of Fiscal Year 2009 

Funding for Transit Investments for 

Greenhouse Gas and Energy 

Reduction Grants 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Interim notice of funding 

availability, request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) 

appropriated $100 million for a new 

discretionary grant program for public 

transportation projects that reduce a 

transit system’s greenhouse gas 

emissions or result in a decrease in a 

transit system’s energy use. Because of 

time limitations in ARRA funding, this 

notice announces the availability of the 

new grant program, application 

requirements, and deadlines for 

submitting grant proposals for funding. 

However, because the Transit 

Investments for Greenhouse Gas and 

Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program is 

a new grant program, FTA also is 

accepting comments on the program’s 

provisions and may alter some of the 

requirements in response to comments. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 7, 2009. Late-filed comments will 

be considered to the extent practicable. 

Complete proposals for the TIGGER 

Grant Program must be submitted by 

May 22, 2009. 

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