Early Scoping Notice for an Alternatives Analysis of Proposed Transit Improvements in the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor of Los Angeles, CA, 61706-61708 [07-5406]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 210 / Wednesday, October 31, 2007 / Notices
potentially significant environmental
and community impacts to be evaluated
in the EIS/EIR. Concurrent with
publication of the NOI pursuant to
NEPA, an NOP will be distributed
pursuant to CEQA. In conjunction with
this final scoping of the EIS/EIR and
consistent with provisions of 23 U.S.C.
139 and CEQA, invitations will be
extended to other Federal and nonFederal agencies that may have an
interest in this matter to be participating
agencies.
A plan for coordinating public and
agency participation in the
environmental review process and for
commenting on the issues under
consideration at various milestones of
the process will be prepared and posted
on the LACMTA Web site at https://
www.metro.net/regionalconnector.
Issued on: October 25, 2007.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal
Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. E7–21424 Filed 10–30–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–57–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Early Scoping Notice for an
Alternatives Analysis of Proposed
Transit Improvements in the Eastside
Extension Phase II Transit Corridor of
Los Angeles, CA
AGENCY:
Federal Transit Administration,
DOT.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
ACTION:
Early Scoping Notice.
SUMMARY: The Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) and the Los
Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (LACMTA)
issue this early scoping notice to advise
other agencies and the public that they
intend to explore, in the context of the
Council on Environmental Quality’s
early scoping process, alternative means
of improving transit capacity and
service in the Eastside Extension Phase
II Transit Corridor of Los Angeles,
California. The early scoping process is
part of a planning Alternatives Analysis
(AA) required by Title 49 United States
Code (U.S.C.) § 5309, that will lead to
the selection of the proposed action and
alternatives that will be subject to the
appropriate environmental process.
Early scoping meetings have been
planned and are announced below.
The Eastside Extensive Phase II
Transit Corridor is east-west oriented
and includes all or portions of the cities
of Montebello, Pico Rivera, Monterey
Park, Industry, Downey, Whittier,
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Commerce, Rosemead, South El Monte,
South San Gabriel, Sante Fe Springs,
Bell as well as unincorporated portions
of the County of Los Angeles. The study
area generally extends from Union
Station in downtown Los Angeles, north
to the Interstate 10 freeway, east to
approximately three miles east of the
State Route 605, and south to Interstate
5 freeway. The Alternatives Analysis
will study the extension of high
capacity transit service from the Metro
Gold Line Eastside Extension to
approximately 3 miles east of the State
Route 605.
The conclusion of the planning
Alternatives Analysis is expected to be
the selection of a Locally Preferred
Alternative (LPA) by the LACMTA and
the Southern California Association of
Governments, which is the official
metropolitan planning organization for
Los Angeles. The LPA will then be the
‘‘proposed action’’ that is subject to an
appropriate environmental review
under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). If the selected LPA
would have significant impacts, an
environmental impact statement (EIS),
combined with a California
environmental impact report (EIR)
would be initiated with a Notice of
Intent in the Federal Register and
distribution of a Notice of Preparation
(NOP) required under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Public and agency scoping of the EIS/
EIR would be conducted at that time. In
particular, the purpose and need for the
project, the range of alternatives to be
considered in the EIS/EIR, the
environmental and community impacts
to be evaluated, and the methodologies
to be used, would be subject to public
and interagency review and comment,
in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 139 and
CEQA.
Written comments on the scope
of the planning Alternatives Analysis,
including the alternatives to be
considered, should be sent to LACMTA
at the address below by November 30,
2007. See ADDRESS below for the address
to which written public comments may
be sent. Early scoping meetings to
accept public comments on the scope of
the planning Alternatives Analysis will
be held on the following dates:
• Thursday, November 8, 2007, from
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Palm Park, 5703
Palm Avenue, Whittier, CA 90601.
• Saturday, November 10, 2007, from
9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Senior Center at City
Park, 115 South Taylor Avenue,
Montebello, CA 90640.
• Wednesday, November 14, 2007,
from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Potrero
DATES:
PO 00000
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Heights Elementary School, 8026 East
Hill Drive, Rosemead, CA 91770.
• Thursday, November 15, 2007, from
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. North Park
Middle School/Cafeteria, 4450 Durfee
Avenue, Pico Rivera, CA 90660.
The draft purpose and need for the
project and the initial set of alternatives
proposed for study will be presented at
these meetings. The buildings and
facilities 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 a scoping meeting should contact Mr.
David Monks, LACMTA at 213 922–
7456 or Monksd@metro.net.
Scoping materials will be available at
the meetings and are also available on
the LACMTA Web site at https://
www.metro.net/eastside. Hard copies of
the scoping materials are available from
Mr. David Monks, LACMTA at 213 922–
7456 or Monksd@metro.net.
An interagency scoping meeting will
be held on Thursday, November 8, 2007,
from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at LACMTA,
One Gateway Plaza, 3rd Floor Board
Overflow Room, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Representatives of Native American
tribal governments and of all Federal,
State, and local agencies that may have
an interest in any aspect of the project
will be invited by phone, letter, or email.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on this
Early Scoping Notice should be sent to
Ms. Kimberly Yu, Project Manager, Los
Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, One Gateway
Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, phone
213–922–7910, e-mail yuki@metro.net.
The locations of the early 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:
Early Scoping
The FTA and LACMTA invite all
interested individuals and
organizations, public agencies, and
Native American tribes to comment on
the scope of the planning Alternatives
Analysis, including the purpose and
need for transit improvements in the
corridor, the alternatives transit modes
and alignments to be considered, and
the types of impacts to be evaluated.
Comments at this time should focus on
the purpose and need for transit
improvements in the corridor;
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 210 / Wednesday, October 31, 2007 / Notices
alternatives that may be less costly or
have less environmental impacts while
achieving similar transportation
objectives; and the identification of any
significant social, economic, or
environmental issues that should be
considered in developing the
alternatives.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Purpose and Need for Action
The project purpose is to improve
public transit service and mobility in
the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit
Corridor. The project would provide the
study area an improved fixed-guideway
east-west transit service from the Metro
Gold Line Eastside Extension currently
under construction, to cities further east
of the City of Los Angeles. Possible
eastern extensions from the Metro Gold
Line would generally continue east
parallel to or along State Route 60,
Beverly Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard
or Whittier Boulevard. The overall goal
of the proposed project is to improve
mobility in the Eastside Extension Phase
II Transit Corridor by extending the
benefits of the existing Metro Gold Line
and bus investments beyond the current
terminus. Mobility problems and
potential improvements for this corridor
have been well documented in many
studies that are available from Metro’s
Record’s Management Department
including numerous Metro Red Line
planning studies, Eastside Transit
Corridor Studies: Re-Evaluation Major
Investment Study (2000), Southern
California Association of Governments
(SCAG) planning studies, the Metro
Rapid Demonstration Project (2000), and
in the Southern California Association
of Governments Regional Transportation
Plan (2004). Additional considerations
supporting the project’s need include:
• The concentration of activity
centers and destinations in the Eastside
Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
• Increasing traffic congestion on the
highway network throughout the
Eastside Extension Phase II Transit
Corridor, which has led to public and
political support for a high-capacity
transit alternative to the automobile;
• The County General Plan of the
County of Los Angeles which is transitsupportive;
• The existing concentration of transit
supportive land uses in the Eastside
Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
• The high population and
employment densities in the Eastside
Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
• Local redevelopment plans that are
highly support of, and dependent on,
high capacity transit services in the
Eastside Extension Phase II Transit
Corridor;
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17:45 Oct 30, 2007
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• The existing high ridership levels
on bus lines in the Eastside Extension
Phase II Transit Corridor;
• Significant transit dependent
population in the Eastside Extension
Phase II Transit Corridor;
• Forecasts of significant future
population and employment growth in
the Eastside Extension Phase II Corridor;
• Existing and future travel demand
patterns that demonstrate a strong and
growing demand for high-capacity
transit in the Eastside Extension Phase
II Corridor;
• Emerging travel patterns associated
with a job-rich study area that has led
to significant westbound congestion
during the morning rush hours and
corresponding eastbound congestion
during the evening rush hours; and
• Local policy directed toward travel
demand management and transit
solutions rather than the expansion of
the street and highway network.
Alternatives
The Eastside Extension Phase II
Corridor Study proposes to extend
transit from the Metro Gold Line
Eastside Extension to cities east of Los
Angeles. Historically two routes have
been previously considered for this
extension; to the City of Whittier via
Atlantic and Whittier Boulevards and
the City of Whittier via Beverly
Boulevard, Paramount Boulevard and
Whittier Boulevard.
Light rail transit, the transit mode that
is currently used in the Metro Gold
Line, is being considered. It normally
follows an at-grade configuration
although underground and aerial
configurations may also be considered
in some locations. Other transit modes,
including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), high
speed trolley and any other reliable,
cost-effective forms of fixed guideway
transit may also be considered.
Proposed station sites (along two
alternative alignments) include Beverly/
Atlantic, Beverly/Gerhart, Beverly/
Garfield, Beverly/Wilcox, Beverly/
Montebello, Beverly/4th, Whittier/
Gerhart, Whittier/Garfield, Whittier/
Wilcox, Whittier/Montebello, Whittier/
Rosemead, Whittier/Passons, Whittier/
Norwalk, Whittier/Arizona, Whittier/
Atlantic, and Beverly/Arizona.
Future No-Build Alternative—The
study will consider the transportation
and environmental effects if no new
major transit investments beyond those
that have already been planned are
implemented in this corridor. This
alternative will include the highway
and transit projects in the current Metro
Long Range Transportation Plan and the
2030 Southern California Association of
Governments Regional Transportation
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61707
Plan. For purposes of the planning
Alternatives Analysis, the major fixed
guideway investments under study for
the Exposition Transit Corridor Phase 2
and Crenshaw Transit Corridor projects
would not be included in the Future NoBuild Alternative. The completion of
the Metro Rapid Bus Program would be
included as well as possible additional
feeder bus networks to serve the region’s
major activity centers.
Transportation System Management
Alternative (TSM)—The study will
consider the effects of modest
improvements in the highway and
transit systems beyond those in the
Future No-Build Alternative. The TSM
Alternative would evaluate low-cost
enhancements to the Future No-Build
Alternative and would emphasize
transportation system upgrades, such as
intersection improvements, minor road
widening, traffic engineering actions,
bus route restructuring, shortened bus
headways, expanded use of articulated
buses, reserved bus lanes, expanded
park-and-ride facilities, express and
limited-stop service, signalization
improvements, and timed-transfer
operations.
In addition to the alternatives
described above, other reasonable
alternatives identified through the early
scoping process will be considered for
potential inclusion in the planning
Alternatives Analysis. Alternative
modes, vertical or horizontal
alignments, or station locations may
emerge from the early scoping process.
FTA Procedures
Early scoping is an optional element
of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) process that is particularly
useful in situations where, as here, a
proposed action (the locally preferred
alternative) has not been identified and
alternative modes and major alignment
variations are under consideration in a
broadly-defined corridor. While NEPA
scoping normally follows issuance of a
notice of intent, which describes the
proposed action, it ‘‘may be initiated
earlier, as long as there is appropriate
public notice and enough information
available on the proposal so that the
public and relevant agencies can
participate effectively.’’ See the Council
on Environmental Quality’s ’’‘‘Forty
Most Asked Questions Concerning
CEQ’s National Environmental Policy
Act Regulations,’’ 46FR 18026, 18030
(1981). In this case, the available
information is more than adequate to
permit the public and relevant agencies
to participate effectively in early
scoping and the planning Alternatives
Analysis.
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61708
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 210 / Wednesday, October 31, 2007 / Notices
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
LACMTA may seek New Starts
funding for the proposed project under
49 U.S.C. 5309 and will, therefore, be
subject to New Starts regulation (49
Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part
611). The New Starts regulation requires
a planning Alternatives Analysis that
leads to the selection of a Locally
Preferred Alternative by LACMTA and
the inclusion of the locally preferred
alternative in the long-range
transportation plan adopted by the
Southern California Association of
Governments. The planning
Alternatives Analysis will examine
alignments, technologies, station
locations, costs, funding, ridership,
economic development, land use,
engineering feasibility, and
environmental factors in the corridor.
The New Starts regulation also requires
the submission of certain projectjustification information in support of a
request to initiate preliminary
engineering. After the identification of a
proposed action at the conclusion of the
planning Alternatives Analysis, if
preparation of an environmental impact
statement is warranted, a Notice of
Intent (NOI) will be published in the
Federal Register and the scoping of the
EIS/EIR will be continued by soliciting
and considering comments on the
results of the planning Alternatives
Analysis, the purpose and need for the
proposed action, the range of
alternatives to be considered in the EIS/
EIR, and the potentially significant
environmental and community impacts
to be evaluated in the EIS/EIR.
Concurrent will publication of the
NOI pursuant to NEPA, an NOP will be
distributed pursuant to CEQA. In
conjunction with this final scoping of
the EIS/EIR and consistent with
provisions of 23 U.S.C. 139 and CEQA,
invitations will be extended to other
Federal and non-Federal agencies that
may have an interest in this matter to be
participating agencies. A plan for
coordinating public and agency
participation in the environmental
review process and for commenting on
the issues under consideration at
various milestones of the process will be
prepared and posted on the LACMTA
Web site at https://www.metro.net/
eastsidephase2.
Issued on: October 25, 2007.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal
Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 07–5406 Filed 10–30–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–57–M
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Proposed Program Guidance Circulars
[Docket Nos. FTA–2007–29126, FTA–2007–
29122, FTA–2007–29123, FTA–2007–29125]
Federal Transit Administration
(FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Proposed Program Guidance
Circulars; Extension of Comment
Periods.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: On September 28, 2007, the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
published notices seeking comment on
four program guidance circulars—the
Metropolitan Planning Program and
State Planning and Research Program
Grants; the Capital Investment Program;
the Grant Management Requirements;
and Third Party Contracting. This
document extends the comment periods
of each of these notices. The reasons for
extending the comment period are
three-fold. First, the FTA wants to
stagger the comment period so the
public has more time to provide
meaningful comments, which in turn
will result in better guidance for our
customers. Second, FTA currently has a
major rulemaking out for comment,
which may create hardship on those
wishing to comment on circulars as well
as the rulemaking. Finally, DOT had
some difficulty migrating from the
USDOT docket system to the Federal
Government’s new E-rulemaking portal,
which has caused some confusion
among commenters.
DATES: The new comment periods are as
follows:
• Metropolitan Planning Program and
State Planning and Research Program
Grants (Docket No. FTA–2007–29126)—
the comment period ends November 30,
2007.
• Grant Management Requirements
(Docket No. FTA–2007–29122)—the
comment period ends January 4, 2008.
• Capital Investment Program (Docket
No. FTA–2007–29123)—the comment
period ends January 25, 2008.
• Third Party Contracting (Docket No.
FTA–2007–29125)—the comment
period ends February 15, 2008.
ADDRESSES: To ensure your comments
are not entered more than once into the
docket, submit comments identified by
the appropriate docket number by only
one of the following methods:
1. Web site: www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on the U.S. Government
electronic docket site. All electronic
submissions must be made to the U.S.
Government electronic site at
www.regulations.gov. Commenters
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Frm 00103
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
should follow the instructions below for
mailed and hand-delivered comments.
2. Fax: 202–493–2251.
3. Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M–30,
West Building, Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
4. Hand-Delivery: To the Docket
Management Facility: U.S. Department
of Transportation, Docket Operations,
M–30, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Fridays, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
the Metropolitan Planning Docket
contact Victor Austin at 202–366–2996
or e-mail at victor.austin@dot.gov, or
Christopher VanWyk by phone at 202–
366–1733 or e-mail at
christopher.vanwyk@dot.gov. For the
Grant Management Requirements
Docket contact Jamie Pfister at 404–865–
5632 or e-mail at jamie.pfister@dot.gov,
or Jayme Blakesley at 202–366–0304 or
e-mail at jayme.blakesley@dot.gov. For
the Capital Investment Program Docket
contact Kimberly Sledge at 202–366–
2053 or e-mail at
kimberly.sledge@dot.gov, or Bonnie
Graves at 202–366–0944 or e-mail at
bonnie.graves@dot.gov. For the Third
Party Contracting Docket contact James
Harper at 202–366–1127 or e-mail at
james.harper@dot.gov, or Kerry Miller at
202–366–1936 or e-mail at
kerry.miller@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
September 28, 2007, FTA published
four separate notices (72 FR 55624 @
Part III) seeking public comment on
proposed guidance relating to the
Metropolitan Planning Program and
State Planning and Research Program
Grants (8100.1B); the Capital Investment
Program (9300.1A); the Grant
Management Requirements (5010.1D);
and Third Party Contracting (4220.1E).
The proposed guidance or circular
revisions are a product of changes made
by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU, Pub. L.
109–59), signed into law on August 10,
2005. The circulars themselves are not
contained in the notices but rather in
the docket(s) @ www.regulations.gov
under the specific docket numbers
indicated above.
FTA has determined that there is good
cause to extend the comment periods to
allow for more time to provide
meaningful comments on the proposed
E:\FR\FM\31OCN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 31, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61706-61708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5406]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Early Scoping Notice for an Alternatives Analysis of Proposed
Transit Improvements in the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit
Corridor of Los Angeles, CA
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Early Scoping Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issue this early
scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public that they intend
to explore, in the context of the Council on Environmental Quality's
early scoping process, alternative means of improving transit capacity
and service in the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor of Los
Angeles, California. The early scoping process is part of a planning
Alternatives Analysis (AA) required by Title 49 United States Code
(U.S.C.) Sec. 5309, that will lead to the selection of the proposed
action and alternatives that will be subject to the appropriate
environmental process. Early scoping meetings have been planned and are
announced below.
The Eastside Extensive Phase II Transit Corridor is east-west
oriented and includes all or portions of the cities of Montebello, Pico
Rivera, Monterey Park, Industry, Downey, Whittier, Commerce, Rosemead,
South El Monte, South San Gabriel, Sante Fe Springs, Bell as well as
unincorporated portions of the County of Los Angeles. The study area
generally extends from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, north to
the Interstate 10 freeway, east to approximately three miles east of
the State Route 605, and south to Interstate 5 freeway. The
Alternatives Analysis will study the extension of high capacity transit
service from the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension to approximately 3
miles east of the State Route 605.
The conclusion of the planning Alternatives Analysis is expected to
be the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) by the LACMTA
and the Southern California Association of Governments, which is the
official metropolitan planning organization for Los Angeles. The LPA
will then be the ``proposed action'' that is subject to an appropriate
environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). If the selected LPA would have significant impacts, an
environmental impact statement (EIS), combined with a California
environmental impact report (EIR) would be initiated with a Notice of
Intent in the Federal Register and distribution of a Notice of
Preparation (NOP) required under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA). Public and agency scoping of the EIS/EIR would be conducted
at that time. In particular, the purpose and need for the project, the
range of alternatives to be considered in the EIS/EIR, the
environmental and community impacts to be evaluated, and the
methodologies to be used, would be subject to public and interagency
review and comment, in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 139 and CEQA.
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the planning Alternatives
Analysis, including the alternatives to be considered, should be sent
to LACMTA at the address below by November 30, 2007. See ADDRESS below
for the address to which written public comments may be sent. Early
scoping meetings to accept public comments on the scope of the planning
Alternatives Analysis will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, November 8, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Palm Park, 5703 Palm Avenue, Whittier, CA 90601.
Saturday, November 10, 2007, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Senior
Center at City Park, 115 South Taylor Avenue, Montebello, CA 90640.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Potrero Heights Elementary School, 8026 East Hill Drive, Rosemead, CA
91770.
Thursday, November 15, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
North Park Middle School/Cafeteria, 4450 Durfee Avenue, Pico Rivera, CA
90660.
The draft purpose and need for the project and the initial set of
alternatives proposed for study will be presented at these meetings.
The buildings and facilities 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 a scoping meeting should contact Mr. David Monks, LACMTA at 213 922-
7456 or Monksd@metro.net.
Scoping materials will be available at the meetings and are also
available on the LACMTA Web site at https://www.metro.net/eastside. Hard
copies of the scoping materials are available from Mr. David Monks,
LACMTA at 213 922-7456 or Monksd@metro.net.
An interagency scoping meeting will be held on Thursday, November
8, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at LACMTA, One Gateway Plaza, 3rd
Floor Board Overflow Room, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Representatives of
Native American tribal governments and of all Federal, State, and local
agencies that may have an interest in any aspect of the project will be
invited by phone, letter, or e-mail.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on this Early Scoping Notice should be sent
to Ms. Kimberly Yu, Project Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012,
phone 213-922-7910, e-mail yuki@metro.net. The locations of the early
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:
Early Scoping
The FTA and LACMTA invite all interested individuals and
organizations, public agencies, and Native American tribes to comment
on the scope of the planning Alternatives Analysis, including the
purpose and need for transit improvements in the corridor, the
alternatives transit modes and alignments to be considered, and the
types of impacts to be evaluated. Comments at this time should focus on
the purpose and need for transit improvements in the corridor;
[[Page 61707]]
alternatives that may be less costly or have less environmental impacts
while achieving similar transportation objectives; and the
identification of any significant social, economic, or environmental
issues that should be considered in developing the alternatives.
Purpose and Need for Action
The project purpose is to improve public transit service and
mobility in the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor. The
project would provide the study area an improved fixed-guideway east-
west transit service from the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension
currently under construction, to cities further east of the City of Los
Angeles. Possible eastern extensions from the Metro Gold Line would
generally continue east parallel to or along State Route 60, Beverly
Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard or Whittier Boulevard. The overall goal of
the proposed project is to improve mobility in the Eastside Extension
Phase II Transit Corridor by extending the benefits of the existing
Metro Gold Line and bus investments beyond the current terminus.
Mobility problems and potential improvements for this corridor have
been well documented in many studies that are available from Metro's
Record's Management Department including numerous Metro Red Line
planning studies, Eastside Transit Corridor Studies: Re-Evaluation
Major Investment Study (2000), Southern California Association of
Governments (SCAG) planning studies, the Metro Rapid Demonstration
Project (2000), and in the Southern California Association of
Governments Regional Transportation Plan (2004). Additional
considerations supporting the project's need include:
The concentration of activity centers and destinations in
the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
Increasing traffic congestion on the highway network
throughout the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor, which has
led to public and political support for a high-capacity transit
alternative to the automobile;
The County General Plan of the County of Los Angeles which
is transit-supportive;
The existing concentration of transit supportive land uses
in the Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
The high population and employment densities in the
Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
Local redevelopment plans that are highly support of, and
dependent on, high capacity transit services in the Eastside Extension
Phase II Transit Corridor;
The existing high ridership levels on bus lines in the
Eastside Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
Significant transit dependent population in the Eastside
Extension Phase II Transit Corridor;
Forecasts of significant future population and employment
growth in the Eastside Extension Phase II Corridor;
Existing and future travel demand patterns that
demonstrate a strong and growing demand for high-capacity transit in
the Eastside Extension Phase II Corridor;
Emerging travel patterns associated with a job-rich study
area that has led to significant westbound congestion during the
morning rush hours and corresponding eastbound congestion during the
evening rush hours; and
Local policy directed toward travel demand management and
transit solutions rather than the expansion of the street and highway
network.
Alternatives
The Eastside Extension Phase II Corridor Study proposes to extend
transit from the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension to cities east of
Los Angeles. Historically two routes have been previously considered
for this extension; to the City of Whittier via Atlantic and Whittier
Boulevards and the City of Whittier via Beverly Boulevard, Paramount
Boulevard and Whittier Boulevard.
Light rail transit, the transit mode that is currently used in the
Metro Gold Line, is being considered. It normally follows an at-grade
configuration although underground and aerial configurations may also
be considered in some locations. Other transit modes, including Bus
Rapid Transit (BRT), high speed trolley and any other reliable, cost-
effective forms of fixed guideway transit may also be considered.
Proposed station sites (along two alternative alignments) include
Beverly/Atlantic, Beverly/Gerhart, Beverly/Garfield, Beverly/Wilcox,
Beverly/Montebello, Beverly/4th, Whittier/Gerhart, Whittier/Garfield,
Whittier/Wilcox, Whittier/Montebello, Whittier/Rosemead, Whittier/
Passons, Whittier/Norwalk, Whittier/Arizona, Whittier/Atlantic, and
Beverly/Arizona.
Future No-Build Alternative--The study will consider the
transportation and environmental effects if no new major transit
investments beyond those that have already been planned are implemented
in this corridor. This alternative will include the highway and transit
projects in the current Metro Long Range Transportation Plan and the
2030 Southern California Association of Governments Regional
Transportation Plan. For purposes of the planning Alternatives
Analysis, the major fixed guideway investments under study for the
Exposition Transit Corridor Phase 2 and Crenshaw Transit Corridor
projects would not be included in the Future No-Build Alternative. The
completion of the Metro Rapid Bus Program would be included as well as
possible additional feeder bus networks to serve the region's major
activity centers.
Transportation System Management Alternative (TSM)--The study will
consider the effects of modest improvements in the highway and transit
systems beyond those in the Future No-Build Alternative. The TSM
Alternative would evaluate low-cost enhancements to the Future No-Build
Alternative and would emphasize transportation system upgrades, such as
intersection improvements, minor road widening, traffic engineering
actions, bus route restructuring, shortened bus headways, expanded use
of articulated buses, reserved bus lanes, expanded park-and-ride
facilities, express and limited-stop service, signalization
improvements, and timed-transfer operations.
In addition to the alternatives described above, other reasonable
alternatives identified through the early scoping process will be
considered for potential inclusion in the planning Alternatives
Analysis. Alternative modes, vertical or horizontal alignments, or
station locations may emerge from the early scoping process.
FTA Procedures
Early scoping is an optional element of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) process that is particularly useful in situations
where, as here, a proposed action (the locally preferred alternative)
has not been identified and alternative modes and major alignment
variations are under consideration in a broadly-defined corridor. While
NEPA scoping normally follows issuance of a notice of intent, which
describes the proposed action, it ``may be initiated earlier, as long
as there is appropriate public notice and enough information available
on the proposal so that the public and relevant agencies can
participate effectively.'' See the Council on Environmental Quality's
''``Forty Most Asked Questions Concerning CEQ's National Environmental
Policy Act Regulations,'' 46FR 18026, 18030 (1981). In this case, the
available information is more than adequate to permit the public and
relevant agencies to participate effectively in early scoping and the
planning Alternatives Analysis.
[[Page 61708]]
LACMTA may seek New Starts funding for the proposed project under
49 U.S.C. 5309 and will, therefore, be subject to New Starts regulation
(49 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 611). The New Starts
regulation requires a planning Alternatives Analysis that leads to the
selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative by LACMTA and the
inclusion of the locally preferred alternative in the long-range
transportation plan adopted by the Southern California Association of
Governments. The planning Alternatives Analysis will examine
alignments, technologies, station locations, costs, funding, ridership,
economic development, land use, engineering feasibility, and
environmental factors in the corridor. The New Starts regulation also
requires the submission of certain project-justification information in
support of a request to initiate preliminary engineering. After the
identification of a proposed action at the conclusion of the planning
Alternatives Analysis, if preparation of an environmental impact
statement is warranted, a Notice of Intent (NOI) will be published in
the Federal Register and the scoping of the EIS/EIR will be continued
by soliciting and considering comments on the results of the planning
Alternatives Analysis, the purpose and need for the proposed action,
the range of alternatives to be considered in the EIS/EIR, and the
potentially significant environmental and community impacts to be
evaluated in the EIS/EIR.
Concurrent will publication of the NOI pursuant to NEPA, an NOP
will be distributed pursuant to CEQA. In conjunction with this final
scoping of the EIS/EIR and consistent with provisions of 23 U.S.C. 139
and CEQA, invitations will be extended to other Federal and non-Federal
agencies that may have an interest in this matter to be participating
agencies. A plan for coordinating public and agency participation in
the environmental review process and for commenting on the issues under
consideration at various milestones of the process will be prepared and
posted on the LACMTA Web site at https://www.metro.net/eastsidephase2.
Issued on: October 25, 2007.
Leslie T. Rogers,
Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 07-5406 Filed 10-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-M
