Major Investment Study/Environmental Impact Statement on the Lower Manhattan Access Alternatives Study in New York County, NY

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Major Investment Study/Environmental Impact Statement on the

Lower Manhattan Access Alternatives Study in New York County, NY

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA) DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Major Investment Study/

Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Metropolitan

Transportation Authority (MTA) intend to prepare a Major Investment

Study (MIS) and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance

with the FTA/Federal Highway Administration's Statewide Planning,

Metropolitan Planning regulations under 23 CFR part 450 and the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and

implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations

(40 CFR parts 1500-1508) to study transportation improvements for

access to the lower portion of Manhattan in the City of New York. This

study will also comply with the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act

Amendments (CAAA). The MTA will ensure that the EIS also satisfies the

requirements of the State of New York Environmental Quality Review Act

and the City of New York Environmental Quality Review Act.

The MIS/DEIS will investigate how the transportation system serving

Lower Manhattan can be improved. Lower Manhattan is an area that: (1)

Is experiencing growth in new sectors (residential, recreation and

tourist) resulting in a changing mix of land uses and activities; (2)

is highly-dependent on quality transit services for continued economic

viability; and (3) is perceived to be difficult to access, particularly

from commuter railroad terminals in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The purpose of this Lower Manhattan Access Alternatives MIS/DEIS

study is to (1) develop feasible, cost-effective, and broadly

beneficial transportation solutions that can meet the area's

transportation shortcomings; (2) maintain or improve Lower Manhattan's

environmental quality; and (3) provide meaningful and significant

opportunities for business, civic and community input throughout the

study process.

Among the alternatives that the MIS/DEIS will evaluate are the No-

Build Alternative; Transportation System Management (TSM) alternatives;

high quality shuttle services; new subway services; extended commuter

rail services; and other new alternatives generated through the scoping

process. Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with

interested persons, organizations, and federal, state and local

agencies, and afternoon and evening public scoping meetings.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the alternatives and

impacts to be considered should be sent to the MTA by July 14, 1998.

Written comments on the project scope should be sent to John D. Dean,

Project Manager, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 347 Madison

Avenue (10th Floor), New York, New York 10017. Oral comments may also

be provided at the scoping meeting. Scoping Meetings: Public scoping

meetings will be held on:

Thursday, June 18, 1998, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the U.S.

Customs House, 1 Bowling Green, New York, New York 10041.

Thursday, June 18, 1998, 5 PM to 7 PM, in the MTA Board

Room, 347 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York , New York 10017.

Tuesday, June 23, 1998, 5 PM to 7 PM, Social Services

Auditorium, 101 County Seat Drive, Mineola, New York 11501.

Wednesday, June 24, 1998, 5 PM to 7 PM, Westchester County

Center, 198 Central Avenue, White Plains, New York 10601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Carr, Director, Office of

Planning and Program Development, Federal Transit Administration, 26

Federal Plaza, Suite 2940, New York, New York 10278. Phone: (212) 264-

8162, FAX (212) 264-8973.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

FTA and MTA invite all individuals, organizations, and federal,

state, and local agencies to participate in defining the alternatives

to be evaluated in the MIS/DEIS and identifying any significant social,

economic, or environmental issues related to the alternatives. A draft

Scoping Document will be prepared to describe the purpose of the

project, the proposed alternatives, the impact areas to be evaluated,

the public involvement program, and the preliminary project schedule.

This

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document will be mailed to affected federal, state, and local agencies,

and will be provided upon request to interested parties on record. The

draft Scoping Document may also be obtained from John D. Dean, Project

Manager, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 347 Madison Avenue, New

York, New York 10017 or downloaded from the project website

[www.lowermanhattan.com]. Scoping comments may be made verbally at the

public scoping meetings, or in writing. See the DATES section above for

locations and times. During the scoping phase of the project, 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 while achieving similar transit

objectives. Scoping is not the appropriate forum in which to indicate a

preference for a particular alternative. Anyone wishing to be placed on

the mailing list to receive further information should contact John D.

Dean of the MTA as previously described.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

The core study area is Lower Manhattan south of the following

streets: beginning at the Hudson River, east along Chambers Street,

north along West Broadway, east along Worth Street, south along St.

James Place, and east along Dover Street (Brooklyn Bridge) to the East

River. These study area boundaries provide a rough guide, and are to be

considered flexible and dependent on the outcome of the scoping

process. The study area includes key business locations such as the

World Trade Center and World Financial Center; Wall Street and Water

Street corridor; civic sites such as City Hall, Federal Plaza, and

Foley Square; historic and recreational areas such as South Street

Seaport, Federal Hall, and the Battery; and growing residential areas

such as Southbridge Towers, Battery Park City, and new residential

conversions of former commercial space east of Broad Street.

This study will examine three primary access corridors that link

New York's northern and eastern suburbs to the Lower Manhattan ``core

area.'' These corridors can be summarized as being (1) on the eastside

of Manhattan, largely from the Grand Central Terminal area; (2) on the

west side of Manhattan, from the Penn Station/Port Authority Bus

Terminal area, and (3) across the East River, from the Atlantic

Terminal Complex in downtown Brooklyn. Other reasonable access

corridors identified in the scoping process will also be considered.

The purpose of the MIS/DEIS process is, in coordination with a

regional framework of transportation studies, to thoroughly examine the

short and long term needs and available options for improving

transportation access to Lower Manhattan, and to identify a preferred

investment strategy that will address the study area's transportation

needs in a cost-effective, equitable, and publicly acceptable manner.

This study will consider the findings, conclusions, and recommendations

of other recent and contemporary regional transportation studies and

data gathering efforts, and closely coordinate with these ongoing

studies.

III. Alternatives

Current Alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) No-Build,

which involves no change to transportation services or facilities in

the study area beyond already committed projects; (2) The

Transportation System Management (TSM) alternative, which consists of

low-to-medium cost improvements that address both short and long term

needs; (3) High Quality Shuttle Service from Grand Central Terminal

and/or Jamaica Station to Lower Manhattan using newly constructed and/

or existing rights of way, such as the BMT Broadway Line or the LIRR

Atlantic Branch; (4) New Subway Service including potential

construction of the Second Avenue Subway to Lower Manhattan; and (5)

Extended Commuter Rail from Grand Central Terminal and/or Jamaica to

Lower Manhattan using newly constructed and/or existing rights of way.

Other reasonable alternatives proposed during the scoping process would

also be considered.

IV. Probable Effects/Potential Impacts for Analysis

The MIS/DEIS will evaluate all significant social, economic and

environmental impacts of the proposed alternatives. Among the issues to

be investigated in the study area and its access corridors are the

potential increase in transit ridership on the current system, the

expected increase in mobility, the capital outlays needed to construct

the project improvements, and the cost of operating and maintaining the

facilities created by the project. Social and environmental impacts

proposed for analysis include land use and urban development impacts,

visual impacts, impacts on cultural and open space resources, health

and safety impacts, and noise and vibration impacts. Impacts on natural

areas, geologic forms, air quality, groundwater, and hazardous

materials will also be analyzed. The impacts will be evaluated both for

the construction period and for the long-term period of operation.

Impacts to the markets outside the core study area and the access

corridors will also be examined where it is appropriate (i.e. traffic

and parking near suburban rail stations). Measures to mitigate

significant adverse impacts will be considered.

IV. FTA Procedures

In accordance with Federal Transit Laws and FTA regulations and

policies, the MIS/DEIS will include an evaluation of the social,

economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives. After its

publication, the MIS/DEIS will be available for public and agency

review and comment, and a public hearing will be held. On the basis of

the MIS/DEIS and the public and agency comments received, the MTA will

select a locally preferred alternative for a major investment strategy.

The locally preferred alternative will then be presented to the

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for affirmation and inclusion

into the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Transportation

Improvement Program (TIP).

Issued on: May 29, 1998.

Letitia Thompson,

Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-14768 Filed 6-3-98; 8:45 am]

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