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

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

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] BILLING CODE 4910-57-P