Environmental statements; notice of intent: Wilmington, DE; transit connector,

[Federal Register: June 16, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 115)]

[Notices]

[Page 32300-32303]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr16jn99-125]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wilmington Transit Connector, Wilmington, DE

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as Federal lead agency, and the Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC), a division of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), as local lead agency, in cooperation with the City of Wilmington (City) and the Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO), intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposed investment strategy to improve mobility among major destinations within the City. The EIS will be prepared in conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The corridor under study is approximately

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1.8 miles in length and 0.5 miles in width, and encompasses the major activity centers making up Wilmington's downtown. The planning horizon for the work will be 20 years with the year 2020 to be employed as the `design year.'

1. The alternatives include: (1) A No Build Alternative: this alternative involves no change to transportation services or facilities in the Corridor beyond already committed projects; (2) Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternatives: these alternatives would optimize existing transportation facilities and operations with low- cost investments to meet the travel demand. Components of this alternative include selected pedestrian, roadway and bus service enhancements; (3) two types of build alternatives--dedicated bus or busway and fixed rail. Each build alternative will consider a range of technologies, routes/alignments, and service levels. Preliminary routes/alignments have been identified for consideration in each of four areas of the corridor beginning at the north end of the corridor, as follows:

   Segment 1--4 alignments serving Rodney Square Transit hub in the north section; Segment 2--2 north-south alignments in the central section of the corridor; Segment 3--3 alignments serving the Amtrak station transit hub; and Segment 4--3 alignments serving the cultural/entertainment district in the south Riverfront area.

   Other alternatives or revisions to the above alternatives that arise through the scoping process will also be considered.

   Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence and meetings with interested persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies. A public meeting will be held regarding this project on Tuesday, June 29, 1999 from 4 to 7 p.m. in Wilmington, Delaware. See ADDRESSES below. The project also will be included in the future meetings, workshops, and focus groups of the `Wilmington Initiatives,' an element of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) for the region, through which the public will have full and regular access to project information and opportunity to comment on the findings as they emerge. As part of the systems planning of the Wilmington Initiatives, two public meetings have been held on April 14 and May 19 to discuss a transit connector concept.

   DATES:

   Comment Due Date: Written comments on the alternatives to be considered and comparative environmental impacts to be evaluated should be postmarked by August 2, 1999 and sent to the Delaware Transit Corporation or the Delaware Department of Transportation. See ADDRESSES below.

   Scoping Meeting: A public scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 1999, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Grand Opera House. See ADDRESSES below. The meeting will be held in an ``open-house'' format, and representatives of DTC/DelDOT, the City of Wilmington and WILMAPCO will be available to discuss the proposed project. Informational displays and written material will also be available. Provision to make written and verbal comments on the materials will be provided. The building in which the scoping meeting will be conducted is accessible to people with disabilities, and provisions will be made for the hearing impaired.

   ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to:

   Mr. Raymond C. Miller, Director, Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC), 655 Bay Road, Suite 4G, Dover, DE 19901

   or

   Terry Fulmer, Manager of Environmental Services, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), P.O. Box 778, Dover, DE 19903

   The scoping meeting will be held as follows: Tuesday, June 29, 1999, From 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Grand Opera House, Lower Level Function Room, 818 Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801.

   As mentioned above, there will also be provisions for written and verbal comments at the public meeting. People with special needs should contact: Doug Andrews, Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC), 400 S. Madison Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, (302) 577-3278 x3451.

   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John T. Garrity, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Region III, 1760 Market Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124, (215) 656-7100.

   SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

   1. Scoping

      FTA and the DTC/DelDOT, along with the City and WILMAPCO, invite interested individuals, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies to participate in defining transportation alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS and in identifying social, economic, or environmental issues related to the alternatives. An information packet describing the Wilmington Transit Connector, the study area, the proposed alternatives, and the impact areas to be evaluated are being mailed to affected Federal, State, and local agencies. Other interested parties may request the scoping materials by contacting Mr. Raymond C. Miller, Director of the Delaware Transit Corporation. See ADDRESSES above.

      During scoping, comments should focus on identifying social, economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated and suggesting alternatives that meet identified mobility needs in a cost-effective manner. However, scoping is not the appropriate time to indicate a preference for a particular alternative. Comments on preferences should be communicated after the scoping, during and immediately after the development of Alternatives Analysis Draft EIS. If you wish to be placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the project develops, contact Mr. Raymond C. Miller, Director of the Delaware Transit Corporation. See ADDRESSES above.

   2. Description of Study Area and Project Need

      The study area extends from 14th Street in the north to Walnut Street on the east, along the Christina River in the southwest, to the Conrail rail tracks to the south, I-95 on the west, to 2nd Street east to Washington Street, joining 14th Street. The corridor is approximately 1.8 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. The corridor encompasses the major activity centers making up Wilmington's downtown and the developing riverfront entertainment district:

1. Substantial Office Core: Currently there are 8 million square feet of single-tenant and 4.2 million of square feet of multi-unit tenant office space in downtown Wilmington.

2. Downtown Retail Areas: Downtown Wilmington contains approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space.

3. Cultural Facilities: Cultural facilities include the Grand Opera House, the Dupont Playhouse, the Delaware Theatre Company, the Delaware Historical Society, Opera Delaware, the Christina Cultural Arts Center and the First USA Riverfront Arts Center. Wilmington's cultural attractions generate at least half a million visitors per year today.

4. Higher Education Facilities: Seven educational institutions with a current enrollment of 4,000 students are located in the corridor.

5. Hotels: Five hotels, with close to 850 rooms, generate approximately 230,000 guests per year today.

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   This area is the transportation hub of the region and is traversed by intercity rail, bus and highway networks extending up and down the northeast corridor of the United States. The corridor accounts for approximately 20% of the State of Delaware employment and 64% of the City's workforce.

   The need for the project arises from three considerations: distances between major activity centers, constrained access to several of these activity centers, and planned economic development that is constrained by transportation access. First, Wilmington's corporate offices, retail, educational, cultural and entertainment centers are dispersed along most of the corridor. A major travel market for a transit service is the office employment in this corridor. However, employment sites are spread out over a length of about one mile (Christina Gateway Complex between 2nd and 4th Streets at Walnut and the Rodney Square/Delaware Avenue area (north of 9th Street). Supportive land uses of retail and entertainment are generally separated from these concentrations by more than the typical one to three block distance that workers will walk at lunch time or after work. Considering current and projected (year 2006) employment approximately 1,700 trips per day would be generated for reliable transit service in this corridor. Other identified markets for transit in this corridor include: riverfront attractions and jobs (1,850 potential trips), commuting to and from train station (300 trips) and trips to and from educational facilities (100 trips).

   Second, access to the rapidly developing entertainment, cultural, and retail centers on the riverfront is constrained by the northeast corridor viaduct, I-95, and the river. Patrons arriving at the train station in the middle of the corridor have limited options for getting to the new Exhibition center or retail due to these barriers and their effect on street configuration and connection. While the Downtown Circuit bus connects these two locations, the route is circuitous and subject to traffic delays. Use of an abandoned rail corridor, now owned by the state presents one of the few options for increased capacity and reliability of transit service.

   Finally, the study corridor contains the City's major office, retail, hotel, transportation, cultural and educational facilities, and more is coming. Office facilities include several corporate headquarters and Federal and State office complexes. Entertainment/ retail facilities have expanded along the riverfront and more is on the drawing boards. Hotels include the Hotel DuPont, a national historic landmark and national chains such as Wyndham, Marriott and Sheraton. A new hotel and residential apartments were announced in early 1999. A ``Shipyard Shops'' retail complex opened on the riverfront in May 1999. A rejuvenated retail area on southern Market Street called ``Ship's Tavern District'' breaks ground in May 1999. The study corridor also includes a judicial complex currently under construction at Fourth and King Streets. The Wilmington train station, with AMTRAK and regional rail facilities, serves as a major transit hub in the middle of the corridor; with Rodney Square, the transit hub in the northern segment. A major challenge of this study is how to efficiently serve these facilities and limit traffic and parking impacts. A high quality transit service in this corridor would allow implementation of a park- once policy, so that internally generated traffic and land devoted to parking would be minimized.

   Also at issue is the need to link workers to the new jobs. To accomplish this will require better transit service between the train station and riverfront developments and between in-town neighborhoods and the new employment centers in the corridor.

   3. Alternatives

   Among the alternatives that the Alternatives Analysis and DEIS will evaluate are:

1. No Build Alternative: this alternative involves no change to transportation services or facilities in the Corridor beyond projects already committed for construction in the regional transportation improvement program and state capital improvement program.

2. Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternatives: these alternatives would optimize existing transportation facilities and operations with low-cost investments to meet the travel demand and improve safety. Components of this alternative will include selected pedestrian, roadway and bus service enhancements.

3. Fixed Guideway Alternatives: fixed guideway alternatives will include dedicated busway and rail alternatives, employing a combination of existing streets and former rail right-of-way. A range of specific alignments will be considered.

   It is expected that the public scoping process and written comments will be a major source of additional candidate alternatives for consideration in the study. The types of transportation alternatives suggested in prior studies for consideration in this corridor includes Transportation Systems Management (TSM) options such as changes in transit routes, fares, and equipment, parking enforcement, and traffic operational changes. Major capital improvements considered have included both rubber-tire trolley and rail transit alternatives.

   The alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS will be based on an element of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) for the region, known as the Wilmington Initiatives. The transit element of the Initiatives is defined by six analyses:

   ‹bullet› Rummel, Klepper & Kahl Consulting Engineers, Parsons Brinkerhoff, and Richard H. Pratt, Consultant, Inc. Regional Rail Study Phase III: Transit Opportunities Along Rail Corridors Within Northern New Castle County ``Initial Feasibility Assessment: 6 Corridors''. Delaware Department of Transportation, 1996.

   ‹bullet› Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson. Downtown Wilmington Transportation Study: Draft Technical Report, Downtown Circulation Study. 1997.

   ‹bullet› TransManagement, Inc. Downtown Wilmington Land Use and Development Capacity Assessment. 1997.

   ‹bullet› SG Associates, Inc. Wilmington Transportation Studies Transit Shuttle Feasibility Analysis. 1998.

   ‹bullet› SG Associates, Inc. Wilmington Transportation Studies Transit Downtown Free Fare Zone Feasibility Analysis. 1998

   ‹bullet› Kimley-Horne and Associates, Inc. Wilmington 2000 Streetcar Conceptual Study. 1998.

   These analyzes may be reviewed at the Delaware Transit Corporation, 400 Madison Street, Wilmington; WILMAPCO, 850 Library Avenue, Suite 100, Newark, the Wilmington Institute Public Library at 10th & Market Streets, Wilmington [or obtained from Doug Andrews, Delaware Transit Corporation]. See ADDRESSES above.

   4. Factors To Be Evaluated

      FTA and the DTC/DelDOT, along with the City and WILMAPCO, will evaluate the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives under consideration. Among the primary transportation issues to be evaluated are the expected increase in transit ridership, including recreational and work trips and the expected increased need for mobility for the transit dependent population. The support of the region's air quality goals, economic benefits, satisfying overall transportation needs of the corridor, capital outlays needed to construct the project, cost of operating and

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      maintaining the facilities created by the project, and the financial impacts on the funding agencies will all be considered. Potentially affected environmental and social resources to be evaluated include, land use and neighborhood impacts, residential and business displacements and relocations, impacts on historic properties and districts, traffic and parking impacts near stations and along the alignments, economic development potential, visual impacts, impacts on cultural resources, and impacts on parklands. Impacts on archaeological resources, air quality, water quality, wetlands and noise will also be considered. New information will be gathered and detailed studies on these subjects will be conducted as necessary. Existing findings about the presence of sites containing hazardous materials will be summarized and utilized; additional studies will be done as necessary. The environmental impacts will be evaluated both for the construction period and for the long-term period of operation. Measures to mitigate adverse impacts will be considered.

   5. FTA Procedures

      In accordance with the regulations and guidance established by the Council on Environmental Quality, as well as with 23 CFR 450 and 23 CFR 771 of the FTA/Federal Highway Administration planning and environmental regulations and policies, an Alternatives Analysis/Draft EIS (DEIS) will include an evaluation of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives and will review alternatives on the basis of conceptual design. The EIS will also comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) and with the Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice. After its preparation, the Alternatives Analysis/DEIS will be available for public and agency review and comment and a public hearing will be held. On the basis of the Alternatives Analysis/DEIS, and the comments received, the City will select a locally preferred alternative for a major investment strategy.

      The locally preferred alternative will then be reaffirmed by the MPO for inclusion into the Metropolitan Transportation Plan and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Following this action, the DTC / DelDOT will request FTA authorization to initiate preliminary engineering and to proceed with needed additional environmental studies prior to issuance of a Final EIS.

      Issued on: June 11, 1999. Sheldon A. Kinbar, Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Region III.

      [FR Doc. 99-15321Filed6-15-99; 8:45 am]

      BILLING CODE 4910-57-U