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Environmental Impact Statement for Transportation Improvements Within the Northeast (University) Corridor, Charlotte, NC
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: September 29, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 190)]
[Notices]
[Page 58599-58601]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29se00-151]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for Transportation Improvements
Within the Northeast (University) Corridor, Charlotte, NC
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Federal lead
agency, and the City of Charlotte, the local lead agency, intend to
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for transportation
improvements within the proposed Northeast Corridor in Mecklenburg
County, North Carolina. The study corridor of approximately 14 miles
extends from Uptown Charlotte (the center city) in Mecklenburg County
to the Concord Mills area near the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus County line.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg region is developing an integrated land
use and supportive transit plan. Building on the 2025 Integrated
Transit/Land Use Plan for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, four corridor Major
Investment Studies (MISs) are being prepared for the North, Northeast
(University), Southeast (Independence), and West (Airport) corridors. A
previously-prepared MIS for the South Corridor resulted in a light rail
transit project for that corridor.
The EIS will be prepared following completion of a MIS for the
Northeast Corridor. The Northeast Corridor MIS will evaluate the land
use, mobility, and environmental benefits, costs and impacts of various
land use and transportation alternatives. The MIS will evaluate the
following alternatives: A No-Build alternative; a Transportation System
Management alternative consisting of low to medium cost
[[Page 58600]]
improvements to the facilities and operation of local bus services
(Charlotte Area Transit System) in addition to currently planned
transit improvements in the study corridor; and multiple ``Build''
alternatives including bus rapid transit, various types of rail transit
facilities, and combinations of these types of transit services, as
well as alternative land use scenarios. (See Section III. Alternatives
for additional information).
The sequence of events for the planning and development for this
project include the following major milestones:
Scoping Process--early opportunity for public input to the study
scope including alternatives and issues to be evaluated.
Major Investment Study (MIS)--evaluation of proposed improvement
alternatives, early consideration of environmental factors, concluding
with the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).
Preliminary Engineering/Environmental Impact Statement (PE/EIS)--
detailed definition of the LPA, evaluation of design options,
assessment of potential impacts, development of mitigation measures,
preparation and circulation of the Draft EIS, public meetings, and
completion of a Final EIS.
Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested
persons, organizations, and federal, state, and local agencies, and
through public and agency meetings.
DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives
and impacts to be considered should be sent to Kelly R. Goforth,
Project Manager, Charlotte Area Transit System, by October 16, 2000.
See ADDRESSES below. Scoping Meetings: Public scoping meetings will be
held on:
Tuesday, September 26, 2000, 6:30 pm-9:00 pm: Mallard Creek
Presbyterian Church, 1600 Mallard Creek Church Rd, Charlotte, NC 28262
Wednesday, September 27, 2000, 6:30 pm-9:00 pm: Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Government Center, 600 East Fourth St, Charlotte, NC 28202 (Joint
meeting with all corridors--Center City focus)
Thursday, September 28, 2000, 6:30 pm-9:00 pm: Sugaw Creek Recreation
Center, 939 West Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28213 (Joint meeting
with North corridor)
Scoping materials will be available at the meeting or in advance of
the meeting by contacting CATS. See ADDRESSES below.
An agency scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 27,
2000, 10 am to 1 pm, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. See
ADDRESSES below.
Scoping is being conducted for three other related corridors--
North, Southeast (Independence), and West (Airport)--in the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg region at approximately the same time with separate public
scoping meetings, as published in separate Notices of Intent. The
agency scoping meeting for the Northeast Corridor will be held in
conjunction with the three other corridors to address inter-related
issues and coordination.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of alternatives and impacts to
be studied should be sent to Kelly R. Goforth, Project Manager,
Charlotte Area Transit System, 600 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC
28202-2858. Public scoping meetings will be held at the following
locations: Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church, 1600 Mallard Creek Church
Rd, Charlotte, NC 28262; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600
E. Fourth St, Charlotte, NC 28202; Sugaw Creek Recreation Center, 939
West Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28213. See DATES above. An agency
scoping meeting will be held at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government
Center, 600 East Fourth St., Charlotte, NC 28202. See DATES above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Myra Immings, Federal Transit
Administration, Region IV, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Suite 17T50, Atlanta,
GA 30303; Telephone (404) 562-3508.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
The FTA and the City of Charlotte invite interested individuals,
organizations, and federal, state and local agencies to participate in
defining the alternative transit modes and alignments to be evaluated
and identifying any significant social, economic, or environmental
issues related to the alternatives. Primary issues to be considered
include the changes in land uses and future development as they relate
to alternative transit systems. Specific suggestions related to
additional alternatives to be examined and issues to be addressed are
welcome and will be considered in the final scope of the project.
Scoping comments may be made at the scoping meetings or in writing no
later than October 16, 2000. (see DATES and ADDRESSES above). During
scoping, comments should focus on identifying specific social,
economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated, and suggesting
alternatives that are less costly or less environmentally damaging
which achieve similar transit objectives. Comments should focus on the
issues and alternatives for analysis, and not on a preference for a
particular alternative.
An information packet, referred to as the Scoping Booklet, will be
circulated to all Federal, State, and local agencies with jurisdiction
in the project area. Scoping materials will be available at the meeting
or in advance of the meeting by contacting the Charlotte Area Transit
System as indicated above. If you wish to be placed on the mailing list
to receive further information as the project continues contact Kelly
Goforth at the Charlotte Area Transit System (see ADDRESSES above).
II. Description of Corridor and Project Need
The Northeast Corridor project is a direct outgrowth of prior
transit planning activities for the region. The 2025 Integrated
Transit/Land Use Plan for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, developed in 1998,
identified key centers of economic activity and the five major
transportation corridors in the Charlotte region. The 2025 Plan calls
for concentrating development along these corridors and proposes a
rapid transit system as a means to support land use initiatives to
attain this vision in order to sustain economic growth and protect
citizens' quality of life. The 2025 Plan identified the Northeast
Corridor as a high-priority transit corridor based on current and
future mobility needs, cost feasibility and potential ridership.
The proposed project corridor extends approximately 14 miles from
Uptown Charlotte (the center city) in Mecklenburg County to the Concord
Mills area near the Mecklenburg--Cabarrus County line. The project
study corridor generally follows the Interstate 85 (I-85) corridor
which runs in a northeasterly direction from the center city of
Charlotte and encompasses major arterials that parallel I-85 including
US 29 and NC 49. Land uses in the study corridor are characterized by
higher density office and commercial development at the southernmost
portion of the corridor located in the center city; the central portion
of the corridor has a mixture of uses including commercial, light
industrial, warehousing, and manufacturing uses with some scattered
low-density residential; and the northeastern portion of the corridor
has a mixture of low-density commercial, institutional/business park,
and residential developments, with pockets of medium-density
residential. Major destinations in the corridor include the University
of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University Research Park, and
Blockbuster Pavilion.
[[Page 58601]]
Interstate 85 is currently a four-lane controlled-access freeway
north of the US-29/49 Connector with an average daily traffic (ADT)
volume of 60,000 vehicles per day (vpd). From the US-29/49 Connector
into the Center City of Charlotte, I-85 is an eight-lane facility with
an ADT of 102,000 vpd. This facility experiences severe congestion and
delays particularly during the peak travel times and is considered one
of the major transportation problems facing the northeast part of the
Charlotte region and Cabarrus County. Currently, I-85 is rated as
having very poor mobility (level of service F in many sections during
peak periods). Future traffic volumes are projected to increase by
nearly 200% by the year 2020, with the segment of I-85 between I-485
and Speedway Boulevard having a projected ADT of 140,000 vpd. The North
Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has programmed the
section of I-85 between the US-29/49 and Speedway Boulevard to be
widened to an eight-lane facility, scheduled to begin construction in
2004. Widening alternatives are currently being evaluated for the
section between Speedway Boulevard and US-601 in the City of Concord.
However, even with these roadway improvements, a substantial portion of
this corridor will still experience peak period congestion.
Future growth projections for the region estimate a population
increase of 57 percent and a 47 percent increase in employment by the
year 2025. The Charlotte Metropolitan Area has exceeded the
Environmental Protection Agency's 1-hour and 8-hour standard for ozone
each of the past three years. These violations will likely result in
the County being designated as a non-attainment area for ozone, which
will be officially stated by US EPA early next year. The primary
contributor of air pollutants in the region is mobile emissions.
III. Alternatives
The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) No-Build,
which involves no change to transportation service or facilities in the
corridor beyond already committed projects; (2) a Transportation System
Management alternative, which consists of low to medium cost
improvements to the operations of the local bus service, the Charlotte
Area Transit System, in addition to the currently planned transit
improvements in the corridor; and (3) multiple ``Build'' alternatives
including bus rapid transit (BRT) facilities along the I-85 corridor
and other major roadways in this vicinity, and various modes of rail
service including commuter rail and light rail transit (LRT) generally
following the existing Norfolk Southern railroad right-of-way and/or
major arterials within the study corridor. The ``Build'' alternatives
may include alternative land use scenarios to evaluate the potential
for focusing development around transit stations. Additional reasonable
alternatives suggested through the scoping process may also be
considered.
IV. Probable Effects
FTA and the City of Charlotte will identify potentially significant
social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with the
alternatives considered in the MIS. The primary environmental issues to
be considered include potential impacts to air quality, noise and
vibration, historical and archaeological resources, visual quality,
wetlands, natural areas, rare and endangered species, water quality and
potential contamination sites. The primary social and economic impacts
proposed for analysis in the MIS include potential changes in land use
and future developments, neighborhood and community resource impacts,
relocations and displacement impacts, and traffic impacts throughout
the project corridor. In addition, both beneficial and adverse impacts
to minority and low-income groups will be evaluated. The impacts will
be evaluated both for the construction period and for the long-term
period of operation. Potential measures to mitigate any significant
adverse impacts will be identified.
V. FTA Procedures
In accordance with the federal transportation planning regulations
(23 CFR part 450), the MIS will be prepared to include an evaluation of
the social, economic, environmental impacts and benefits of the
alternatives. The MIS will consider the public and agency comments
received. At the conclusion of the MIS, the Metropolitan Transit
Commission will select the preferred mode and general alignment
alternative for the Northeast Corridor (the LPA). Once the LPA has been
included in the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization's
adopted long-range transportation plan, this project and associated
alignment, design, and other options will be further studied in the
Preliminary Engineering/Environmental Impact Statement (PE/EIS) phase
of project development. Opportunities for agency and public involvement
will be provided throughout the MIS and PE/EIS phases.
Dated: September 22, 2000.
Jerry Franklin,
FTA Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 00-24861 Filed 9-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P