Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Metro-North Penn Station Access Study

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for

the Metro-North Penn Station Access Study

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

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

Environmental Impact Statement (MIS/DEIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Metro-North

Commuter Railroad Company (Metro-North) intend to prepare a Major

[[Page 48229]]

Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (MIS/DEIS) to

study transportation access improvements from the Metro-North service

territory on the New Haven, Harlem, and Hudson Lines (north of

Manhattan) to Pennsylvania Station, New York (Penn Station) on the West

Side of Manhattan in the City of New York. Current Metro-North service

terminates at Grand Central Terminal (GCT) on the East Side of

Manhattan, necessitating as many as two transfers on additional modes

to reach destinations on the West Side. The MIS/DEIS is being prepared

in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

(NEPA), as amended, and implemented by the Council on Environmental

Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), the FTA/Federal

Highway Administration's Environmental Impact regulations (23 CFR Part

771), and the FTA/FHWA Statewide Planning/Metropolitan Planning

regulations (23 CFR Part 450). This study will also comply with the

requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as

amended, Section 4(f) of the 1966 U.S. Department of Transportation

Act, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, the Executive Order 12898 on

Environmental Justice, and other applicable rules, regulations, and

guidance documents.

The Penn Station Access MIS/DEIS will examine alternative

strategies for improving access from the Metro-North service territory

to the West Side of Manhattan (Penn Station). New York-bound, Metro-

North trains currently terminate at GCT on Manhattan's East Side. The

study will also evaluate the possibility of station stops in Co-Op City

in the Bronx and on the West Side of Manhattan, and a new rail yard.

Consideration will also be given to other modes.

The Penn Station Access MIS/DEIS will develop alternatives for

study that could lead to a project which would (1) Be a feasible, cost-

effective, and beneficial transportation improvement that would enhance

connections to other regional rail services; (2) increase Metro-North

ridership and provide service flexibility for its customers; and (3)

support the region's economic vitality and quality of life. The MIS/

DEIS will evaluate a No-Build Alternative, a Transportation System

Management (TSM) Alternative, and Build Alternatives. Build

alternatives will take into consideration the use of Metro-North's

Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines to provide access to Penn Station,

potential new stations on the West Side of Manhattan (somewhere from

approximately 57th Street to 86th Street) and at Co-Op City in the

Bronx, as well as other reasonable alternatives suggested through the

scoping process. The type, location and need for ancillary facilities

(such as new yards or shops) will also be considered for each

alternative.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of the MIS/DEIS

should be sent to Metro-North by October 22, 1999. See ADDRESSES below.

Scoping Meeting: Public scoping meetings for the Penn Station

Access MIS/DEIS will be held on:

September 28, 1999

6 pm-9 pm (sign-in begins at 5:30), MTA Headquarters, 5th Floor

Board Room, 347 Madison Avenue (btwn 44th St. & 45th St.), New York,

New York

September 30, 1999

7 pm-10 pm (sign-in begins at 6:30), Einstein Community Center; 135

Einstein Loop, Co-Op City, New York

October 5, 1999

7 pm-10 pm (sign-in begins at 6:30), The Warner Library, (corner of

Broadway St. and Wildey St.) Tarrytown, New York

October 7, 1999

7 pm-10 pm (sign-in begins at 6:30), Stamford Government Center, 888

Washington Blvd., 2nd Floor (Senior Center), Stamford, Connecticut

People with special needs should contact Todd DiScala at Metro-North at

the address below or by calling the study hotline at 1-877-MNR-PENN.

The buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. A sign

language interpreter will be available for the hearing impaired.

Scoping material will be available at the meetings and may also be

obtained in advance of the meetings by contacting Todd DiScala at the

address below or by calling the study hotline above. Oral and written

comments may be given at the scoping meetings; a stenographer will

record all comments.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to Todd

DiScala, Project Manager, Metro-North Railroad, 420 Lexington Avenue,

9th Floor, New York, New York 10017. The scoping meetings will be held

at the locations identified above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you wish to be placed on the

mailing list to receive further information as the study develops,

contact Todd DiScala at the above address or call the study hotline at

1-877-MNR-PENN. For further information you may also contact: Ms. Nancy

Danzig, Community Planner, Federal Transit Administration, Region II,

One Bowling Green, Room 429, New York, New York, 10004-1415; phone:

212-668-2170.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

The FTA and Metro-North invite all interested individuals and

organizations, and federal, state, and local agencies to provide

comments on the scope of the study. During the scoping process,

comments should focus on identifying specific social, economic, or

environmental issues to be evaluated and suggesting alternatives, which

may be less costly or have less environmental impacts, while achieving

the transportation objectives of enhancing regional connectivity,

providing service flexibility, and supporting the region's economic

vitality and quality of life. Comments should focus on the issues and

alternatives for analysis and not on a preference for a particular

alternative. Scoping materials will be available at the meetings or in

advance of the meetings by contacting Todd DiScala at Metro-North, as

indicated above.

The Penn Station Access Study will be closely coordinated with

major regional initiatives and studies that are related to this effort.

These include:

Hudson Line Extension MIS/DEIS, a study by Metro-North

to examine extending Hudson Line service further north in Dutchess

County from its current terminus in Poughkeepsie, New York;

Access to the Region's Core Study (ARC), a joint study

by New Jersey Transit, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,

and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The ARC study

continues to study access to Midtown Manhattan from points east and

west;

East Side Access Study, a study by MTA Long Island Rail

Road of access to the East Side of Manhattan via Grand Central

Terminal;

Lower Manhattan Access Alternatives Study, a study by

the MTA to determine feasible alternatives for improving access to

Lower Manhattan;

Manhattan East Side Alternatives, a study by MTA New

York City Transit to examine alternatives for improving access in

the north-south corridor on the East Side of Manhattan;

Amtrak High Speed Rail, projects to (1) improve service

in the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston and (2) to

provide improved service in the Empire Corridor.

Amtrak Service to the Farley Post Office Building, a

project which will move Amtrak's New York City passenger operations

to the Farley Post Office Building; and

Conrail/CSX/Norfolk Southern Merger, a change in the

ownership of the freight network, dividing the former Conrail

holdings between CSX and Norfolk Southern.

[[Page 48230]]

Following the public scoping process, public outreach activities

will include meetings with a Community Liaison Committee (CLC)

established for the study and comprised of community leaders, and with

Community Boards; public meetings and hearings; distribution of study

fact sheets and newsletters; and use of other outreach mechanisms.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the widest possible range of

public participants has the opportunity to attend general public

meetings (e.g., scoping meetings and public hearing(s)) held by Metro-

North to solicit input on the Penn Station Access MIS/DEIS. Attendance

will be sought through mailings, notices, advertisements, and press

releases.

II. Description of Study Area and Transportation Needs

The study area includes: (1) The Penn Station vicinity on the West

Side of Manhattan, (2) the corridors of Metro-North's service

territory, including the Hudson Line (76 miles), Harlem Line (82 miles

[including Wassaic Extension]), and New Haven Line (132 miles)

[including the New Canaan Branch, Danbury Branch, and the Waterbury

Branch) extending through Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Bronx, and New

York (Manhattan) Counties in New York, and Fairfield and New Haven

Counties in Connecticut; and (3) the corridors of Amtrak's Empire Line

south of Spuyten Duyvil to Penn Station on the West Side of Manhattan,

and Amtrak's Hell Gate Line south of New Rochelle and through

Sunnyside, Queens. The study area also includes the vicinity of

possible new stations and storage yards on the Hudson and New Haven

Lines. Possible new station locations include the West Side of

Manhattan from 57th Street to 86th Street, and Co-Op City in the Bronx.

This study area description is generalized and considered flexible,

subject both to the outcome of the scoping process and the locations of

the alternatives studied in detail.

The purpose of the Penn Station Access MIS/DEIS is to thoroughly

examine the demand for, and the opportunities and constraints related

to, improving access to Penn Station from the Metro-North service

territory to the West Side of Manhattan, and to identify a preferred

study alternative that addresses the forecasted demand in a cost-

effective, environmentally sound, and equitable way. The MIS/DEIS will

be conducted in coordination with a regional framework of

transportation studies; it will consider the findings, conclusions, and

recommendations of other recent and ongoing regional transportation

studies. The MIS/DEIS will examine and document the social, economic,

and environmental impacts of implementing identified study

alternatives.

Provision of service to the Penn Station area would address the

following needs:

Commutation to Manhattan's West Side (Penn Station and

Upper West Side areas);

Commutation to Long Island and New Jersey (via transfer

at Penn Station to Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) or New Jersey

Transit (NJT) service);

Commutation to workplaces in the vicinity of possible

new stations on the West Side of Manhattan and Co-Op City in the

Bronx.

Reverse commutation from the West Side and Co-Op City

to communities in the Metro-North service area;

Discretionary (non-work-related) travel to Long Island

and New Jersey in peak periods, off-peak periods, and on weekends;

and

Discretionary (non-work-related) travel to Manhattan's

West Side in peak periods, off-peak periods, and on weekends for

visits to shops, shows and museums.

III. Alternatives

The alternatives proposed for evaluation include: (1) The No-Build

Alternative, which involves the current infrastructure of highways,

train, bus, and subway service, in addition to all ongoing, committed

and funded roadway and transit projects outlined in the State

Transportation Improvement Program (STIP); (2) the Transportation

System Management (TSM) Alternative, which includes all elements of the

No-Build alternative in addition to roadway and traffic improvements

and improvements to existing transit services that address the defined

purpose and need for Penn Station access. The TSM Alternative is a low

cost alternative that uses existing facilities to the greatest extent

possible to meet the study area needs. The TSM Alternative also

provides the baseline against which the cost-effectiveness of other

capital transit investments can be evaluated; and (3) the Build

Alternatives, which include commuter rail service between Penn Station

and stations on the Hudson, Harlem, and/or New Haven Lines; shuttle

train service between key Metro-North stations and Penn Station,

enabling riders from Grand Central Terminal-bound trains to transfer to

Penn Station trains; potential new intermediate stations on the West

Side of Manhattan (from 57th Street to 86th Street) and at Co-Op City

in the Bronx; and potential new yard locations for storage of

equipment.

Rail alternatives using the Hudson and New Haven Lines to provide

access to Penn Station would use existing rail infrastructure by

connecting to Amtrak's Empire Connection and Hell Gate Line,

respectively. Alternatives using the Harlem Line to provide access to

Penn Station may require track reconstruction at potential merge

locations (e.g. Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx).

Additional reasonable Build alternatives suggested during the

scoping process, including those involving other modes, may be

considered.

IV. Probable Effects

The FTA and Metro-North will evaluate all potential changes to the

social, economic, and physical environment, including land acquisition

and displacements; land use, zoning and economic development;

parklands; community disruption; aesthetics; historic and archeological

resources; traffic and parking; air quality; noise and vibration; water

quality; wetlands; ecologically sensitive areas; endangered species;

energy requirements and potential for conservation; hazardous waste;

environmental justice; safety and security; and cumulative impacts. Key

areas of environmental concern would be in the areas of potential new

construction (e.g. new stations, track connections, etc.). The impacts

will be evaluated both for the construction period and for the long-

term period of operation of each alternative. Measures to mitigate any

significant adverse impacts will be identified.

V. FTA Procedures

The DEIS will be prepared in conjunction with a major investment

study and will document the results of that study, including an

evaluation of the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts

of the alternatives. Upon completion, the MIS/DEIS will be available

for public and agency review and comment. Public hearing(s) will be

held within the study area. On the basis of the MIS/DEIS and the public

and agency comments received, a locally preferred alternative will be

selected, to be further detailed in the final EIS.

Issued On: August 30, 1999.

Letitia Thompson,

Regional Administrator, TRO-II, Federal Transit Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-22926 Filed 9-1-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-57-P