Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Resort Corridor Fixed Guideway Project Between Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV and McCarran International Airport, Clark County, NV

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on the Proposed Resort Corridor

Fixed Guideway Project Between Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV and

McCarran International Airport, Clark County, NV

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as Federal lead

agency, and the Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County

(RTC), as local lead agency, intend to prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 (NEPA) on a proposal by RTC to further study the proposed

implementation of a fixed guideway (urban rail) system within a

corridor, known as the Resort Corridor, 9 miles long and 4 miles wide

between Cashman Field in the City of Las Vegas and McCarran

International Airport in Clark County.

The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives adopted as part of

the fixed guideway element of the Transportation Master Plan for the

Resort Corridor as defined in the Resort Corridor Major Investment

Study (MIS), Final Evaluation Report, dated October 9, 1997; (1) The

Fixed Guideway Element Initial Operating Segment (IOS). This

alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway system 5.2 miles long,

10 fixed guideway stations, a supporting bus transit system element,

and is also known as Phase 1 of the Report Corridor Transportation

Master Plan. (2) The Fixed Guideway Element Core System. This

alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway system 15.6 miles long,

27 fixed guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system

element. (3) The Fixed Guideway Element Core System with an extension

along Harmon Avenue to McCarran International Airport. This alternative

includes an elevated fixed guideway system 18.4 miles long, 31 fixed

guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system element. (4) The

Fixed Guideway Core System with an extension along Tropicana Avenue to

McCarran

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International Airport. This alternative includes an elevated fixed

guideway system 18.0 miles long, 28 fixed guideway stations, and a

supporting bus transit system element. (5) A No Build alternative,

which involves no change to transportation services or facilities in

the Resort Corridor beyond already committed projects. Potential new

feasible alternatives or revisions to the above alternatives generated

through the scoping process will also be considered.

Scoping will be accomplished through correspondence with interested

persons, organizations, and Federal, State, and local agencies; and two

public scoping meetings.

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

alternatives and impacts to be considered should be submitted by

October 16, 1998. Written comments should be sent to Mr. Lee Gibson,

Planning Manager, RTC, 301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV

89101. Written comments may also be made at the public scoping meetings

scheduled below: The public scoping meetings will take place on: (1)

Tuesday, September 22, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Cashman

Field and (2) Tuesday, September 29, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

at Clark County Flamingo Library. See ADDRESSES below.

People with special needs should contact Lee Gibson at RTC at the

address below or by calling (702) 455-4481. The buildings in which the

scoping meetings will be conducted are accessible to people with

disabilities.

The meetings will be held in an ``open-house'' format, and

representatives will be available to discuss the project throughout the

time periods given. Information displays and written material will also

be available throughout the time periods given.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning

Manager, RTC, 301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV 89101.

Written comments may also be made at the public scoping meetings

scheduled below. The Scoping Meetings will take place at the following

locations: (1) Tuesday, September 22, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

at Cashman Field, 850 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV 89101

and (2) Tuesday, September 29, 1998 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the

Clark County Flamingo Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV

89119.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning Manager, RTC, 301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300,

Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 455-4481, or fax (702) 455-2937.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

FTA and RTC invite interested individuals, organizations, and

Federal, State, and local agencies to participate in defining the fixed

guideway and supported bus system alternatives to be evaluated in the

EIS and identifying any significant social, economic, or environmental

issues related to the alternatives. An information packet describing

the results of the Resort Corridor major Investment Study, the

Transportation Master Plan for the Resort Corridor, the purpose of the

project, the project location, the proposed alternatives, and the

impact areas to be evaluated is being mailed to affected Federal,

State, and local agencies. Other interested parties may request the

scoping materials by contacting Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning Manager, RTC,

301 E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 455-4481, or

fax (702) 455-2937. Scoping comments may be made in writing at the

public scoping meetings. See the Scoping Meeting section above for the

locations and times. 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 while meeting the identified mobility needs.

Scoping is not the appropriate time to indicate a preference for a

particular alternative. Comments on the preferences should be

communicated after the Draft EIS has been completed. If you wish to be

placed on the mailing list to receive further information as the

project develops, contact: Mr. Lee Gibson, Planning Manager, RTC, 301

E. Clark Avenue, Suite 300, Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 455-4481, or fax

(702) 455-2937.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

The study area, called the Resort Corridor, is bounded on the north

by Washington Avenue, on the east by Maryland Parkway and Eastern

Avenue, on the south by Windmill Lane, and on the west by Valley View

Boulevard. The Resort Corridor is approximately 9 miles long and 4

miles wide and represents approximately 10 percent of the urbanized Las

Vegas Valley land area. The Resort Corridor encompasses the

geographical center and the economic focal point of the Las Vegas

metropolitan area with 50 percent of the region's employment.

The study corridor contains the key activity, employment, and

transportation facilities in the Las Vegas area such as: the Grant

Sawyer State Office Building, Cashman Field and Convention Center,

downtown Las Vegas, Downtown Transit Center, Clark County and City of

Las Vegas government office complexes, Federal office buildings,

Fremont Street Experience, major hospital complexes, 90,000 plus hotel

rooms (The Strip), three major regional shopping centers, Las Vegas

Convention Center, University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), Thomas and

Mack Center, South Resort Corridor Transit Center, and McCarran

International Airport.

This EIS is the logical next step in transportation planning and

project development following RTC's completion of a Major Investment

Study (MIS) of the mobility needs in the study area. This MIS employed

a far-reaching public involvement program, continuous coordination with

affected and interested agencies and community stakeholders, and a

detailed evaluation of a wide range of alternatives to meet the

mobility needs identified in the MIS. The following findings of need in

the Resort Corridor over the 20-year planning period were identified

and guided the development and evaluation of the alternatives for the

MIS:

Between 1995 and 2020 the number of jobs in the Resort

Corridor will increase from 238,000 (50 percent of the region's jobs)

to 492,000 (44 percent of the region's jobs).

Between 1995 and 2020 the region's population will

increase from 950,000 to almost 2 million (over 100 percent increase).

Between 1995 and 2020 the full implementation of the

Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) will increase roadway capacity by

only 27 percent. During this same period, demand for vehicle travel

will increase approximately 54 percent.

Should the community attempt to provide for mobility in

its traditional manner of building streets, highways, and freeways to

accommodate the travel demand, the equivalent of 20 east-west and 18

north-south arterial lanes of roadways will have to be built in the

Resort Corridor. Such arterial lanes would be added to the roadway

projects already programmed in the RTP.

The RTP will consume all existing roadway rights-of-way

and will complete the roadway infrastructure improvement program for

the Resort Corridor. If new roadway construction, or widening of

existing travel ways, is to occur beyond those identified in the

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RTP, additional right-of-way will have to be acquired.

Regional vehicle travel, especially residential trips to

and from work in the Resort Corridor, contribute significantly to the

travel demands placed on the Resort Corridor's roadways.

Regional utilization of public bus transit (Citizens Area

Transit or CAT) increased 175 percent between 1993 and 1997. Attempting

to solve the roadway congestion conditions in the Resort Corridor

solely by expanding the ridership on CAT will be virtually impossible

unless substantial infrastructure improvements are also implemented to

increase the ability of buses to operate on the roadways.

Meeting the mobility demands within the Resort Corridor

will require the establishment of a multi-modal, fully integrated set

of transportation solutions.

Travel volumes, land use densities, and employment

concentration will warrant the consideration of establishing a higher

order of public transit that operates in a separate right-of-way.

Programs directed at reducing the amount of travel in

private vehicles and encouraging the use of public transit within the

Resort Corridor and between the Resort Corridor and the remainder of

the community are needed.

The MIS process developed a number of alternatives to address the

above statement of needs. Detailed analysis at a conceptual engineering

level was completed for a set of multi-modal alternatives to identify

cost, ridership, cost-effectiveness measures, and environmental

benefits and impacts. The results led to the development and adoption

of a Transportation Master Plan for the Resort Corridor that includes

four components: a fixed guideway element, an enhanced bus program, a

transportation demand management element, and a street and highway

element along with the adoption of a Phase 1 fixed guideway element and

supporting bus system component. This EIS focuses on the fixed guideway

element and the supporting bus system component.

III. Alternatives

The EIS will evaluate the following alternatives adopted as part of

the fixed guideway element of the Transportation Master Plan for the

Resort Corridor as defined in the Resort Corridor Major Investment

Study (MIS), Final Evaluation Report, dated October 9, 1997: (1) The

Fixed Guideway Element Initial Operating Segment (IOS). This

alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway system 5.2 miles long,

10 fixed guideway stations, a supporting bus transit system element,

and is also known as Phase 1 of the Resort Corridor Transportation

Master Plan. (2) The Fixed Guideway Element Core System. This

alternative includes an elevated fixed guideway System 15.6 miles long,

27 fixed guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system

element. (3) The Fixed Guideway Element Core system with an extension

along Harmon Avenue to McCarran International Airport. This alternative

includes an elevated fixed guideway system 18.4 miles long, 31 fixed

guideway stations, and a supporting bus transit system element. (4) The

Fixed Guideway Core System with an extension along Tropicana Avenue to

McCarran International Airport. This alternative includes an elevated

fixed guideway system 18.0 miles long, 28 fixed guideway stations, and

a supporting bus transit system element. (5) A No Build alternative,

which involves no change to transportation services or facilities in

the Resort Corridor beyond already committed projects. In addition,

special consideration will be given to evaluating three alternative

technology groups for the elevated fixed guideway system. These

technologies include light rail transit (LRT), automated guideway

transit (AGT), and large monorail transit systems. Potential new

feasible alternatives or revisions to the above alternatives generated

through the scoping process will also be considered.

IV. Probable Effects

FTA and RTC will evaluate, in the EIS, all significant social,

economic, and environmental impacts of the alternatives. The previous

MIS study evaluated these impacts at level of detail sufficient to

adopt the components of the Transportation Master Plan and to identify

the alternatives and issues to be addressed in the EIS. Among the

primary transit issues to be evaluated in the EIS are the expected

increase in transit ridership including visitor trips and residents

trips, the expected increase in mobility for the transit dependent

population, the support of the region's air quality goals, the economic

benefits, satisfying the overall transportation needs of the Resort

Corridor, the capital outlays needed to construct the project, the cost

of operating and maintaining the facilities created by the project, the

impacts of any private urban transit-grade fixed guideway projects, and

the financial impacts on the funding agencies. Potentially affected

environmental and social resources proposed for further analyses and

re-evaluation in the EIS include, land use and neighborhood impacts,

residential and business displacements and relocations, traffic and

parking impacts near stations and along the alignments, visual impacts,

noise and vibration impacts, major utility relocation impacts, and

impacts on cultural and archaeological resources. Impacts on air

quality, water quality, and hazardous waste sites will also be covered.

The impacts will be evaluated both for the construction period and for

the long-term period of operation. Measures to mitigate significant

adverse impacts will be considered.

V. FTA Procedures

The EIS alternatives with conceptual engineering detail and the

Preliminary Engineering level of detail for the Phase 1, Initial

Operating Segment (IOS) alternative will be prepared simultaneously.

The EIS/conceptual engineering process will assess the social,

economic, and environmental impacted of the proposed alternatives while

refining their design to minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts.

After its publication, the Draft EIS will be available for public

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

the Draft EIS and comments received, RTC will select a refined Fixed

Guideway Element and a refined fixed guideway IOS project definition.

RTC will then select the refined IOS project alternative that will be

carried into the Final EIS and will complete the preliminary

engineering. Following this action by RTC, RTC will request FTA

authorization to proceed with the Final EIS and to complete the

preliminary engineering activities.

Issued on: September 2, 1998.

Leslie T. Rogers,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98-24025 Filed 9-3-98; 8:45 am]

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