Federal Transit Administration May 24, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FTA, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North) and the Westchester County Department of Transportation (WCDOT), intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal to improve station access and provide additional parking at the Metro-North North White Plains Station, Westchester County, New York (Proposed Action). The FTA is the lead Federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The Proposed Action is being developed by Metro-North and WCDOT, the co-sponsors of the Proposed Action. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA and the applicable regulations for implementing NEPA, as set forth in 23 CFR part 771 and 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. The EIS is being prepared to satisfy the requirements of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Items that will be considered in the Proposed Action are: Expansion of parking capacity through the construction of a multi-level parking structure at Metro-North's North White Plains Station; Improved access to/from the proposed expanded parking facilities from the east side of the railroad tracks; Enhanced customer service facilities for intermodal connections and parking demand management strategies such as: Jitney services, feeder buses supported by park-and-ride lots, carpool and vanpool arrangements, bicycling and walking; Restoration of a portion of the Bronx River Parkway Reservation which is currently used for customer parking back to parkland; and Rerouting a portion of the Bronx River Parkway Reservation bike pathway in the study area. The EIS will evaluate a build alternative, comprising a multi-level parking structure and four possible access alternatives, a No Action Alternative and any additional reasonable alternatives generated by the scoping process. Scoping will be accomplished through meetings and correspondence with interested persons, organizations, and Federal, State, regional, and local agencies.