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Environmental Impact Statement for the Fulton Street Transit Center in New York, NY
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: April 3, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 64)]
[Notices]
[Page 16343-16346]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03ap03-131]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Statement for the Fulton Street Transit
Center in New York, NY
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: The FTA, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit (NYCT), intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal to create the Fulton
Street Transit Center in Lower Manhattan, New York, NY. The proposed
project would consist of six distinct elements: (1) A new mass transit
``Center'' at street and subsurface levels on Broadway between Fulton
and John Streets that would provide consolidated access to, and
transfers between nine different subway lines; (2) rehabilitation of
the 4/5 line Fulton Street Station and the 2/3 line Fulton Street
Station; (3) improvements to the mezzanines and platform access at the
A/C line Fulton Street Station that would facilitate way-finding,
circulation and access to the street and to the platform; (4) an
underground concourse below Dey Street between Broadway and Church
Street that would connect the N/R line and the area west of Church
Street with the 4/5 line and the area east of Broadway; (5) a
pedestrian and passenger connection located beneath Church Street that
would link the Cortlandt Street Station on the N/R line with the E line
terminal station at the former World Trade Center site and include a
new transfer between N/R platforms; and (6) various improvements to
street entrances to the subway to provide better access for all users,
including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant access. The
location for these proposed improvements is in Lower Manhattan in the
area bounded by Church Street to the west, William Street to the east,
Fulton Street to the north and Dey Street and John Street to the south.
The EIS is being prepared in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the applicable regulations
implementing NEPA, as set forth in 23 CFR part 771 and 40 CFR parts
1500-1508. As co-sponsors of the proposed project, the MTA and NYCT
will ensure that the EIS and the environmental review process also
satisfy the requirements of the New York State Environmental Quality
Review Act (SEQRA) as may be applicable.
The EIS will evaluate a No Action Alternative, various Build
Alternatives, and any additional 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.
DATES: The public is invited to participate in project scoping on April
29, 2003 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the location identified under
ADDRESSES below to ensure that all significant issues are identified
and considered. Poster boards depicting the project concept will be
available for review at the meeting location from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A
formal presentation by MTA and NYCT regarding the project will be made
at 6 p.m., followed by the opportunity for the public to ask questions
and make comments on the scope of the EIS. MTA and NYCT representatives
will be available for informal questions and comments during the 4 to 6
p.m. poster session. Those wishing to speak are requested to register
at the meeting location before 7 p.m. Additional speakers will be
invited until there are no more requesting to be heard. Subsequent
opportunities for public involvement will be announced on the Internet,
by mail, and through other appropriate mechanisms, and will be
conducted throughout the study area. Additional project information may
be obtained from the MTA Web site: http://www.mta.info 
(click
``Inside the MTA'' then ``Planning Studies,'' and ``Fulton Street Transit
Center''). Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be sent to
the MTA Project Manager by May 13, 2003 at the address given under
ADDRESSES below.
ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held at The Alexander
Hamilton U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green, Lower Level Auditorium,
New York, NY. The scoping meeting site is accessible to mobility-
impaired people and interpreter services will be provided for hearing-
impaired people upon request. Written comments will be taken at the
meeting or may be sent to the following address at any time during the
scoping period: Mr. William Wheeler, Director, Special Project
Development and Planning, Fulton Street Transit Center, C/O Government
and Community Relations, MTA New York City Transit, 130 Livingston
Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11201. The scoping packet may also be
requested by writing to this address or by calling (718) 694-5160.
Requests to be placed on the project mailing list may also be made by
calling this number or by writing to the project address above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan E. Schruth, Director, Lower
Manhattan Recovery Office, Federal Transit Administration, One Bowling
Green, Room 429, New York, NY 10004; Telephone: (212) 668-1770.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Scoping
FTA and MTA/NYCT invite interested individuals, organizations, and
Federal, state, and local agencies to provide comments on the scope of
the Fulton Street Transit Center EIS. During the scoping process,
comments should focus on specific social, economic, or environmental
issues to be evaluated, and on suggesting alternatives that may be less
costly or have fewer
[[Page 16344]]
environmental impacts while achieving similar transportation
objectives. To assist interested parties in formulating their comments,
a scoping information packet has been prepared and is available on the
MTA Web site address noted above, or upon request from the MTA
representative identified above. The scoping information packet
includes the project's purpose and need, goals and objectives, a
preliminary list of alternatives, and environmental areas that will be
addressed during the course of the study. An outline of the on-going
public participation program is also contained in the information
packet and on the Internet site given above.
II. Description of the Project Area
The MTA/NYCT subway system is the largest in North America, serving
4.6 million trips daily and is the main public transit service to Lower
Manhattan. The largest and most heavily used subway lines providing
access to Lower Manhattan converge at or near the Fulton Street--
Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex in Lower Manhattan. This station
complex consists of four separate stations serving a total of nine
subway lines, including: (1) The 4/5 line Fulton Street Station below
Broadway; (2) the A/C line Broadway Nassau Station below Fulton Street;
(3) the J/M/Z line Fulton Street Station below Nassau Street; and (4)
the 2/3 line Fulton Street Station below William Street. In
combination, this station complex is the ninth largest of over 400
stations citywide, serving over 225,000 movements (passengers entering,
exiting or transferring) each day, and is among the oldest in the City.
The complex is one block (450 feet) east of the site of the former
World Trade Center (WTC).
One block (approximately 450 feet) to the west of this station
complex is the N/R line Cortlandt Street Station below Church Street,
immediately adjacent to the WTC site. Two blocks (approximately 400
feet) further to the north, the E line below Church Street terminates
in a station at the WTC site. Immediately west of the study area is the
1/9 line Cortlandt Street Station at the WTC site. None of these
stations have underground connections to each other or to the Fulton
Street--Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex. Also located to the
west is the proposed restoration of Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH)
service and the existing trans-Hudson ferry service at the World
Financial Center, neither of which is directly connected to any of the
subway lines.
III. Problem Identification
The four separate stations comprising the Fulton Street--Broadway
Nassau Subway Station Complex were built at different times since the
early 1900s. Because these stations were separately conceived and were
connected after their construction, a series of inefficient and
circuitous connections were constructed between the individual
stations. This group of stations is further characterized by: Crowded
corridors, mezzanines and train platforms; lack of prominent surface
visibility to aid customer entry and exit; and inadequate connections
to other nearby subway and transit services. Despite the extraordinary
density of transit services at the existing Fulton Street--Broadway
Nassau Subway Station Complex, there is no quick and easy access to,
from and among the other heavily-used subway lines in the vicinity or
efficient connections between the subway network and the street. Given
these deficiencies, the existing Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau Subway
Station Complex is cumbersome to workers and others who access Lower
Manhattan daily. Its improvement would address a long-standing obstacle
to better transit access to Lower Manhattan.
The importance of addressing Lower Manhattan transit access was
further reinforced by the devastating impact of the terrorist attacks
on Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. These events caused serious
disruption to the economy, infrastructure and quality of life, and have
made travel to and from Lower Manhattan difficult and time consuming.
Residents, businesses and jobs have been displaced, and there is a
compelling need to restore and improve the transportation
infrastructure and functionality in Lower Manhattan to allow for a full
economic recovery.
Millions of visitors are expected to visit Lower Manhattan as the
planned World Trade Center memorial is anticipated to become one of the
most important destinations in the United States. With 85% of all
downtown access trips made by transit, Lower Manhattan urgently needs a
clear, easily navigable, ``connected'' subway complex and visible
gateway to support its economic recovery and provide access to the
prospective WTC Memorial and other cultural resources for tourists.
Because of the pivotal role that the Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau
Subway Station Complex currently plays in providing transit access to
Lower Manhattan, its existing deficiencies need to be addressed in
order to improve upon the overall access to Lower Manhattan and in
supporting its economic recovery and future growth.
IV. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The purpose of the Fulton Street Transit Center is to create a
functionally and visually unified transit facility with a central
distinguishing portal by improving the existing Fulton Street--Broadway
Nassau Subway Station Complex. This would reduce congestion at the
existing subway platforms, improve the overall experience of transit
users and provide improved pedestrian connectivity within the subway
complex and with other subway and transit services to the west. In
doing so, the proposed action would address the need for improved
access to Lower Manhattan in support of economic recovery and resumed
growth.
Addressing the deficiencies at the Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau
Subway Station Complex would create a facility that is less congested
and circuitous, ADA accessible, easily identifiable at street level,
and provide direct pedestrian access and streamlined transfers with
other subway services. The proposed Fulton Street Transit Center would
be designed to adequately accommodate present customer demands and
anticipated 2020 levels of demand for movement to, from, and within the
existing Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex.
V. Goals and Objectives
In conjunction with the purpose and need for the proposed action,
the following goals and objectives have been identified in support of
improving transit access to Lower Manhattan and economic
revitalization.
The specific goals for the proposed action are to provide a
prominent and effective downtown transit center that:
? Facilitates access, improves wayfinding, and streamlines
transfers;
? Allows for intermodal connectivity (PATH, ferry service);
? Promotes system flexibility in the event of service
disruption;
? Improves east-west pedestrian connectivity across Lower
Manhattan;
? Promotes safety and reduces congestion at heavily
trafficked street crossings;
? Supports current land use, and recovery and rebuilding of
Lower Manhattan; and,
? Improves travelers' experience and transit's overall
attractiveness.
In support of the above goals, the objectives are to:
[[Page 16345]]
? Create a Transit Center to better serve the complex of four
stations located between Broadway and William Street: i.e., the 4/5, J/
M/Z and 2/3 Fulton Street Stations and the A/C Broadway Nassau Station;
? Add a concourse beneath Dey Street to link the new Transit
Center with the N/R Cortlandt Street Station, and allow for a
connection with a proposed Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
(PANYNJ) sponsored concourse that would continue into the WTC site,
connect to the PATH and the 1/9 line Cortlandt Street Station, and
potentially extend to the World Financial Center and trans-Hudson
ferries;
? Provide a visual presence by creating a street-level
building and prominent point of access to the subway system;
? Improve street access to the 4/5 line Fulton Street Station
and the N/R line Cortlandt Street Station;
? Improve the transfer between the 4/5 and A/C lines in
particular, and all adjacent services in general;
? Establish both a paid and unpaid connection between the N/R
line Cortlandt Street Station and the E line Terminal at the WTC site;
? Reduce dwell time and exposure to dwell delays for 4/5 and
A/C trains at the Fulton Street Station;
? Reduce commuter access time from the WTC site/World
Financial Center and PATH to locations and subway stations east of
Church Street;
? Create Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant
access;
? Improve wayfinding; and
? Improve safety.
The proposed Fulton Street Transit Center project will be closely
coordinated with the proposed PATH station reconstruction at the WTC
site, the proposed WTC Transportation Hub project and the redevelopment
of the WTC site.
VI. Alternatives
The EIS will evaluate alternatives and options for the proposed
action which will: (1) Be feasible and cost-effective, and provide
beneficial transit improvements that enhance connections to the
existing transportation system and Lower Manhattan land uses; (2) meet
the anticipated increase in transit use in Lower Manhattan; and (3)
enhance Lower Manhattan and the region's economic vitality and quality
of life.
Based on previous planning studies, and with the cooperation of
public and agency work groups, a preliminary list of alternatives has
been developed to address the purpose and need of this facility. The
alternatives identified to date, which may be supplemented or further
developed during the scoping process, have been organized as follows:
(A) No Action Alternative; (B) Transit Center and Concourse Full Build
Alternative; (C) Partial Build Alternatives. The Full Build Alternative
under consideration includes a transit center building with a
subsurface passenger concourse connecting several existing subway
stations. The Partial Build Alternatives include: a subsurface
passenger concourse connecting several existing subway stations without
a transit center building; and a combination of improvements,
rehabilitations, and enhancements to existing stations. The full set of
project alternatives are further described as follows:
A. No Action Alternative. This alternative provides for minor
improvements, repairs, and other maintenance actions to the existing
Fulton Street--Broadway Nassau Subway Station Complex and the N/R line
Cortlandt Street Station.
B. Transit Center and Concourse Full Build Alternative. This
alternative provides for construction of the following six main
elements:
1. A new transit ``Center'' at street and subsurface levels on
Broadway between Fulton and John Streets. The ``Center'' would serve
the large ridership of Lower Manhattan, facilitate pedestrian access
and transfer between subway lines, reduce 4/5 and A/C train platform
congestion and dwell times, improve wayfinding between stations,
improve street access and street-level visibility, and provide
consolidated downtown access.
2. Rehabilitation of the 4/5 line Fulton Street Station and the 2/3
line Fulton Street Station. This element would incorporate the
necessary measures to bring these stations to a state of good repair
and provide operational and infrastructure improvements consistent with
NYCT station planning, accessibility and design guidelines.
3. Improvements to the mezzanines and platform access at the A/C
line Fulton Street Station. These improvements would facilitate
wayfinding, circulation and access to the street and to the platform
for all users, including those subject to the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). They would address current and future
overcrowded circulation conditions.
4. An underground concourse beneath Dey Street between Broadway and
Church Street. This concourse would connect the N/R line with the 4/5
line and the area west of Church Street with the area east of Broadway.
The concourse would improve pedestrian connectivity between subway
lines, particularly east-west across Lower Manhattan, and pedestrian
safety, comfort, and convenience, and would provide intermodal
connectivity between NYCT services and prospective PATH services west
of Church Street.
5. A pedestrian and passenger connector between N/R and E service.
This connector would improve west side access to Lower Manhattan and
would improve operational flexibility by permitting customers to
transfer between the services without payment of additional fares. This
connector would run along Church Street, linking the northern end of
the N/R line Cortlandt Street Station with the southern end of the E
line terminal at the World Trade Center, and would include a new
transfer between N/R platforms.
6. Improved street access to the subway. This element would provide
better access for all users through the provision of wider and more
direct stairways, access for disabled customers and new street
entrances from the 4/5 and N/R platforms.
In combination, the above-stated six elements encompass the Transit
Center and Concourse Full Build Alternative.
C. Partial Build Alternatives. Various combinations of subsets of
the six project elements described under the Full Build Alternative
above will be considered. For example, one possibility is construction
of only the underground concourse beneath Dey Street between Broadway
and Church Street. This partial-build alternative would connect the N/R
and 4/5 subway lines with a fully accessible subsurface concourse under
Dey Street. FTA and MTA/NYCT specifically seek comment during scoping
on appropriate combinations of project elements that should be
evaluated as detailed alternatives in the EIS.
Although compatible with and contributing to the functionality of
the overall Transit Center, some elements of the Full Build
Alternative, such as the station rehabilitation elements, are
functionally independent of the other elements of the proposed action.
Although the current plan is to evaluate all of these geographically
contiguous elements in the EIS, as the project elements are developed
and as schedules and construction phasing plans develop, it is possible
that some of the independent elements may be advanced via separate
environmental evaluations under NEPA.
VII. Potential Adverse Effects
Upon its completion, the proposed Fulton Street Transit Center is
[[Page 16346]]
anticipated to eliminate the existing deficiencies in Lower Manhattan
subway service noted above and generate positive impacts for Lower
Manhattan businesses, residents, workers, and visitors. In light of
this, and in consideration of other new construction activity that is
expected to occur in Lower Manhattan over the next decade, it is
anticipated that construction-related impacts from the proposed project
may be the most important aspect of the environmental evaluation under
NEPA. Potential effects associated with the construction phase include
noise, business disruption, and impacts on pedestrian and vehicular
traffic, air quality, and historic resources. The cumulative effects of
construction of this project and other Lower Manhattan recovery
projects will be a major focus of the evaluation.
The long-term operational issues and impacts of the alternatives to
be considered in the EIS include economic development; land
acquisition; historic, archaeological, and cultural resources; visual
and aesthetic qualities; air quality; noise and vibration; safety and
security; utilities; and transportation impacts. In addition, the EIS
will describe the methodology used to assess impacts; identify the
affected environment; and identify opportunities and measures for
mitigating adverse impacts. Principles of environmental construction
management, resource protection and mitigation measures, and NYCT's
``Design for the Environment'' guidelines (2002) will be considered for
incorporation into the Build Alternatives.
VIII. FTA Procedures
During the NEPA process, FTA will also comply with the requirements
of the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 4(f) of the
Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 303), the Clean Air Act,
and other applicable environmental statutes, rules, and regulations, in
accordance with FTA procedures.
Through the NEPA scoping process and as project development
advances, it will be determined whether certain elements of the Full
Build Alternative should be advanced independently or in combination
with other elements, or be deferred for evaluation at a future time, in
order to meet the transportation needs of redeveloping Lower Manhattan
with minimal impact and in a timely manner.
If there are no major changes to the proposed action, a Draft EIS
will be prepared and made available for public and agency review and
comment. One or more public hearings will be held on the Draft EIS. On
the basis of the Draft EIS and the public and agency comments thereon,
a locally preferred alternative will be selected and will be fully
described and further developed in the Final EIS.
Issued on: March 31, 2003.
Susan E. Schruth,
Director, Lower Manhattan Recovery Office.
[FR Doc. 03-8136 Filed 4-2-03; 8:45 am]
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