Federal Transit Administration December 21, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Utah Transit Authority (UTA), and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) intend to prepare an Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact Statement (AA/EIS) for potential high-capacity fixed-guideway transit improvements and roadway infrastructure improvements in Utah County, Utah. The project's purposes are to serve transit markets along the corridor including two universities (Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College), existing and planned student housing, retail malls, several employment centers, historic downtown Provo, and two major regional intermodal centers; provide circulation and distribution for future transit projects including commuter rail; and to accommodate future travel demand while maintaining efficient traffic flow. The project termini are the planned Orem intermodal center near Utah Valley State College (UVSC) on the north and a location near the Provo Towne Center Mall and East Bay Business Complex (Novell Campus) on the south. The general location of the corridor is on or near University Parkway and University Avenue in Utah County and length of the project is approximately 9 miles. The timeframe for the environmental review process is from January 2008 to January 2010. The AA/EIS will be prepared in accordance with section 102(2)c of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and pursuant to the Council on the Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), FTA/FHWA joint regulations (23 CFR 771) as well as provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of this notice is to alert interested parties regarding the intent to prepare the AA/EIS, to provide information on the nature of the proposed project and possible alternatives, to invite public participation in the NEPA process (including providing comments on the scope of the AA/EIS), and to announce that a public scoping meeting will be conducted. The AA/EIS will examine and evaluate a number of transit alternatives in the corridor. Any additional alternatives generated by the scoping process as well as the proposed station locations for the Build alternatives will also be considered. The alternatives will be compared to a No-Action Alternative for evaluation purposes. Scoping for the AA/EIS will be accomplished through a public meeting; e-mail and hard copy correspondence with interested individuals and organizations, Federal, State, and local agencies, and Native American Tribes; and through a meeting with cooperating and participating public agencies. Interested parties may comment by: (1) E-mailing provo-oremrapidtransit@hwlochner.com; (2) visiting the project Web site at https://www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info; (3) mailing written comments to the address below, or (4) attending the public scoping meeting, described below under Meeting Dates. A scoping information packet will be posted on the project Web site at https:// www.provo-oremrapidtransit.info and hard copies of the packet will be distributed on request.