Environmental Impact Statement for the Glen Burnie Light Rail Extension in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement for the Glen Burnie Light Rail

Extension in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

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) and the Maryland Mass

Transit Administration (MTA) intend to undertake an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA). MTA will ensure that the EIS also satisfies the

requirements of the Maryland Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).

This effort will be performed in cooperation with the Anne Arundel

County Office of Planning and Code Enforcement. Other key supporting

agencies include the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works and

the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC).

The Environmental Impact Statement will evaluate alternative light

rail alignments in the corridor between the Central Light Rail Line's

existing terminus, Cromwell Station, to the central business district

(CBD) in Glen Burnie, MD and a parallel hiker/biker trail. In addition,

the EIS will evaluate the No-Build alternative. Scoping will be

accomplished through correspondence with interested persons,

organizations, and federal, state, and local agencies, and through a

public meeting. See Supplementary Information below for details.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of the

alternative alignments and impacts to be considered should be sent to

the MTA by February 27, 1995, See ADDRESSES below.

Scoping Meeting: The public scoping meeting will be held on

Wednesday, January 25, 1995, between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. at The Pascal

Senior Center. See ADDRESSES below. People with special needs should

contact Lisa Colletti at the address below or by calling (410) 333-

3379. A TDD number is also available; (410) 539-3497. The building is

accessible to people with disabilities. It is located within one mile

of the Cromwell Light Rail Stop as well as transit stops for the 14,

17, and 18 bus lines.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on project scope should be sent to Mr.

Anthony J. Brown, Project Manager, Maryland Mass Transit

Administration, 300 West Lexington Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-3415.

The Scoping Meeting will be held at the following location: The Pascal

Senior Center, 125 Dorsey Road, Glen Burnie, Maryland, 21061. See DATES

above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Herman Shipman, Deputy Regional

Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Region III, 1760 Market

St., Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 656-6900.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

FTA and the MTA invite interested individuals, organizations, and

federal, state, and local agencies to participate in defining the

alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS and identifying any significant

social, economic, or environmental issues related to the alternatives.

Scoping comments may be made at the public scoping meeting or in

writing. See DATES and ADDRESSES sections above for locations and

times. During scoping, comments should focus on identifying specific

social, economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated and

suggesting alternatives which are more cost effective or have less

environmental impact while achieving similar transit objectives.

Scoping materials will be available at the meeting or in advance of

the meeting by contacting Lisa Colletti at the MTA as indicated above.

The meeting will be held in an ``open-house'' format and project

representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the

time period given. Informational displays and written materials will

also be available throughout the time period given. In addition to

written comments which may be made at the meeting or as described

below, a stenographer will be available at the meeting to record

comments.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

The study area is wholly within Anne Arundel County, MD. It is

approximately three quarters of a mile long and connects the CBD of

Glen Burnie, MD and the existing Central Light Rail Line terminus at

Dorsey Road (MD 176) and Baltimore & Annapolis Boulevard (MD 648). The

corridor also connects two commercial centers. [[Page 4468]]

Existing transit service in the study area is provided by the

Maryland Mass Transit Administration. Existing traffic is primarily

carried by Dorsey Road (MD 176) and Baltimore & Annapolis Boulevard (MD

648) with high traffic volumes at many of the signalized intersections.

The proposed light rail extension is intended to provide a high

quality connection between the existing Central Light Rail Line

terminus at Dorsey Road and the Glen Burnie CBD; to support economic

viability of the Glen Burnie area through greater transit

accessibility; contribute to higher transit modal splits for work trips

between the Glen Burnie and Downtown Baltimore CBDs and employment

centers; improve reverse commute transportation options; to help

achieve regional clean air goals; and improve travel time in the

Baltimore - Glen Burnie corridor.

III. Alternatives

The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: No-Build which

involves no change to transportation services or facilities in the

corridor beyond those improvements currently programmed; and the light

rail transit alternative which consists of providing light rail service

via alternative alignments ranging in length from 2,900 feet to 4,570

feet, primarily using single track. One station stop is proposed in

conjunction with this alignment.

IV. Probable Effects

FTA and MTA plan to evaluate in the EIS all significant social,

economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives. Among the

primary issues are the expected increase in transit ridership, the

expected increase in mobility for the corridor's transit dependent, the

support of the region's air quality goals, the capital outlays needed

to construct the project, the cost of operating and maintaining the

facilities created by the project, and the financial impacts on the

funding agencies. Environmental and social impacts proposed for

analysis include land use and neighborhood impacts, traffic and parking

impacts near stations, health and safety impacts on wetland and

parkland areas, and noise and vibration impacts. Impacts on natural

areas, rare and endangered species, and air and water quality, will

also be covered. The impacts will be evaluated both for the

construction period and for the long term period of operations.

Measures to mitigate adverse impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

The draft EIS will be prepared in accordance with federal

transportation planning and environmental regulations (23 CFR Parts 450

and 771). The draft EIS will document the social, economic, and

environmental impacts of the alternatives. Upon completion of the draft

EIS, and on the basis of comments received, the MTA Administrator in

concert with the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation

(MDOT) and BMC, and in consultation with Anne Arundel County, and other

affected agencies will select a locally preferred alternative. The MTA

will then seek to have BMC, the metropolitan planning organization for

the Baltimore area include the preferred alternative in the regional

transportation plan, and continue with further preliminary engineering

of the project and preparation of the Final EIS.

Issued on: January 18, 1995.

Sheldon A. Kinbar,

FTA Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95-1608 Filed 1-20-95; 8:45 am]

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