Federal Transit Administration January 19, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the City of Tucson, Department of Transportation (TDOT), intend to prepare an Alternatives Analysis (AA) and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on a proposal by the City of Tucson to provide additional transit service to the urban core of the City of Tucson. The AA/EIS will consider the following alternatives: (1) A No-Build Alternative, consisting of improvements contained in the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) 2025 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP); (2) Transportation System Management Alternative (TSM), consisting of all reasonable cost- effective transit service improvements within the urban core short of a major investment in a New Starts project; (3) Rubber Tired Rapid Bus Circulator operating in mixed traffic (4) Modern Streetcar operating in mixed traffic; and (5) Heritage Trolley in mixed traffic. The type, location, and need for ancillary facilities, such as maintenance facilities, will also be considered for each alternative. In addition, alternatives that are identified from the scoping process will be evaluated in the AA. This notice is an update to replace the notice published in the Federal Register on 12/21/04. Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence and discussions with interested persons; organizations; and Federal, State, and local agencies; and through public and agency meetings. Depending on the outcome of the scoping process and the analysis of a wide range of transit alternatives in the Draft EIS (DEIS), a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) will be selected and evaluated in the Final EIS (FEIS). The FEIS will evaluate the potential impacts of the selected investment strategy (the Build Alternative) and a No-Build Alternative.