Environmental Impact Statement for the BART-Oakland Airport Connector in Oakland, California

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement for the BART-Oakland Airport

Connector in Oakland, California

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of

Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the San Francisco

Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) intend to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and an Environmental Impact Report

(EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for a

proposed BART-Oakland Airport Connector (OAC). The transportation

improvements are being defined in conjunction with a Major Investment

Study (MIS), which will include the NEPA/CEQA scoping process and the

selection of alternatives to be addressed in the joint environmental

document. The EIS/EIR will evaluate a no build alternative, a quality

bus alternative,

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and various automated guideway transit technologies, as well as other

options that surface during the scoping process. Based on the

presentation of the proposed action, project alternatives, and breadth

of the environmental analysis described below, please let us know of

your agency's views regarding the scope and content of the EIS/EIR.

Your thoughts can be offered at the scoping meeting or sent in written

form to the contact person identified below.

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

alternatives and impacts to be considered should be sent to BART by

December 6, 1999. Scoping Meeting: A public scoping meeting is

scheduled for Thursday, November 4, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. at the East

Oakland Multipurpose Senior Center. See ADDRESSES below.

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

Jerry Goldberg, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, PO Box

12688, Oakland, CA 94604-2688, Mail Stop 1KB6. The scoping meeting will

be held at: East Oakland Multipurpose Senior Center, 9255 Edes Avenue,

Oakland, CA, (Located at the corner of Edes & Jones Avenue). BART

Coliseum Station to AC Transit Bus Route 45.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna Turchie, Federal Transit

Administration, Region 9, (415) 744-3115.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

FTA and BART invite interested individuals, organizations, and

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

alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS/EIR and identifying any

significant environmental issues related to the alternatives. The

meeting is also being advertised in The Oakland Tribune and the San

Francisco Chronicle, East Bay Edition. An information packet describing

the purpose of the project, the proposed alternatives, the impact areas

to be evaluated, the citizen involvement program, and the preliminary

project schedule will be made available at the scoping meeting. Others

may request the scoping materials by contacting Mr. Jerry Goldberg at

BART at (510) 464-6427. People with special needs should call BART at

(510) 464-6300. The building used for the scoping meeting is accessible

to persons with disabilities.

During scoping, comments should focus on identifying specific

environmental impacts to be evaluated and suggesting alternatives that

are less environmentally damaging, which achieve similar objectives.

Comments should focus on the issues and alternatives for analysis, and

not on a preference for a particular alternative. Individual preference

for a particular alternative should be communicated during the comment

period for the Draft EIS/EIR. If you wish to be placed on the mailing

list to receive further information as the project continues, contact

Mr. Jerry Goldberg at BART as previously described.

II. Description of Study Area and Project Need

Since the early 1970s, the concept of an improved transit linkage

between the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport and BART has

been explored, and various feasibility, engineering, and environmental

studies have been undertaken. The major expansion program currently

underway at the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport signals a

substantial increase in travel by air passengers arriving and leaving

the airport, as well as growth in the commute pattern of employees at

the airport. As one of the three primary airports serving the San

Francisco Bay Area, air traffic at the Metropolitan Oakland

International Airport is projected to increase to serve more of the

region's air passengers and air cargo. While the major improvement and

construction program at the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport

bears witness to the ever-growing demand to move passengers, goods, and

service through this gateway, the ability to get to the airport via the

automobile, airport shuttles, taxis, and vans has become ever more

challenging and likely to encounter delays. Programmed improvements to

enhance the regional freeways do not appear to be sufficient to

accommodate expected growth and eliminate congestion.

Air passengers and employees who take transit to the airport either

ride BART to the Oakland Coliseum station and transfer to the AirBART

bus shuttle, or they ride AC Transit (local Route 58). However, even

with programmed improvements to remedy local congestion and increase

capacity on the local roadways, the growth at the airport is expected

to create periods of congestion and delay. As a result, the minimum

running time of 12 to 15 minutes on AirBART between the Oakland

Coliseum Station and the airport often exceeds 20 minutes and is

projected to lengthen and, more significantly for air passengers, is

likely to become more unpredictable.

Because of foreseeable growth in airport use, local roadway

congestion and delay, the demand for transit alternatives is expected

to rise. To maintain the capacity, convenience, and reliability of

transit services, the Proposed Action would be intended to improve

access to the airport using direct, coordinated connections from the

existing BART system. By reducing projected vehicle trips, the action

would help alleviate regional roadway congestion and benefit local and

regional air quality. The action would also be intended to improve the

convenience and reliability of taking BART to the Metropolitan Oakland

International Airport.

In light of the purpose of the project and the regional and local

need for an improved transit connection, the following preliminary

objectives are identified for the OAC:

Provide reliable, scheduled service between the BART

system and the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport.

Offer operational flexibility to reduce headways during

periods of increased travel demand between the BART system and the

Metropolitan Oakland International Airport.

Offer a competitive alternative travel mode to those who

drive to the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport by providing

predictable connections and travel time savings.

Provide a convenient, safe, and comfortable connection

between the BART system and the Metropolitan Oakland International

Airport.

Increase BART's systemwide ridership.

Design a cost-efficient system, recognizing BART's budget

constraints and available funding.

A ``seamless'' transit connection between the airport and the BART

regional rail transit system would enable both air passengers and

employees to access the airport without relying on an increasingly

congested regional and local road network. To meet the above

objectives, BART is currently examining the desirability of linking the

95-mile, four-County rapid rail network with the airport via an

automated transit system that would operate on its own fixed guideway,

and to which intermediate stops could be added in the future.

The OAC would travel a length of approximately 3 miles, with

termini at the BART Oakland Coliseum Station and the new main terminal

at the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport. Transit vehicles

would operate along a guideway that would be separated from street

traffic--a separation that would allow reliable service and a travel

time of less than 6 minutes from one terminus to the other. In the year

of opening (currently

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proposed to be 2004), the OAC would be projected to carry about 1

million passengers. By the year 2010, annual passengers could grow to

about 3 million.

III. Alternatives

Specific alternatives to the Proposed Action are expected to evolve

during the environmental review process and in response to the public

scoping process. At this juncture, project alternatives expected to be

evaluated in the EIS/EIR include:

A No Build, or No Project, Alternative that considers the

consequences of not improving transit services between BART and the

Metropolitan Oakland International Airport. This alternative would

involve continuation of the existing AirBART shuttle between the BART

Oakland Coliseum Station and the Metropolitan Oakland International

Airport.

A ``Quality Bus'' Alternative that considers technical and

operational transit improvements using buses. The system is called a

``quality bus'' alternative, in part, because it seeks to emulate the

service levels provided by a fixed guideway rail system. Amenities

would be provided at stations, and portions of the route could be

constructed with exclusive transit lanes or other transit preferential

treatments in order to bypass areas of localized traffic congestion.

An Automated Guideway Transit Alternative (AGT) that would

operate on its own exclusive guideway. The system would be fully

automated, with a transfer station providing direct connection to the

BART system at one end and a station at the Metropolitan Oakland

International Airport at the other end. A specific technology has not

been selected for evaluation in this EIS/EIR. A specific technology

would be selected for implementation only if the proposed AGT project

is approved after completion of the environmental evaluation. The term

``Automated Guideway Transit'' encompasses a group of technologies that

provide medium capacity transit service on an exclusive guideway.

Examples of Automated Guideway Transit systems include people movers,

shuttle transit, and advanced light rail transit.

IV. Probable Effects

The purpose of the EIS/EIR is to fully disclose the social,

economic, and environmental consequences of building and operating the

OAC in advance of any decisions to make substantial financial or other

commitments to its implementation. The EIS/EIR will explore the extent

to which the project alternatives result in potentially significant

social, economic, and environmental effects and identify appropriate

actions to reduce or eliminate these impacts. Issues that will be

investigated in the EIS/EIR include transportation, traffic, and

circulation effects; land use compatibility and consistency with

locally adopted plans; potential effects on local businesses and

employment; disturbance to sensitive visual and cultural resources;

geologic and hydrology effects; potential disturbance to sensitive

wildlife and vegetation species and habitats; air and noise emissions

from project-related construction and operation; public health and

safety concerns related to exposure to hazardous materials; community

service and utility demand; direct or indirect effects to public

parklands, significant historic resources, or wildlife refuges; and

environmental justice concerns from any disproportionate impacts of the

project alternatives on low-income or ethnic minority neighborhoods.

V. FTA Procedures

The Draft EIS/EIR for the BART-Oakland Airport Connector will be

prepared in conjunction with a Major Investment Study. After its

publication, in accordance with the Federal Transit Act, as amended,

and FTA policy, the Draft EIS/EIR will be available for review and

comment by interested public members and local, state, and federal

agencies, and a public hearing will be held. Based on the Draft EIS/EIR

and comments received, BART will identify a locally preferred

alternative for further assessment in the Final EIS/EIR. FTA and BART

must approve the Final EIS/EIR prior to making any decisions regarding

the project.

Issued on: October 19, 1999.

Leslie T. Rogers,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 99-27832 Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]

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