Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility Study

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Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility StudyStudy Purpose2.3.2.3EnvironmentalAnalysisandEffectsThis aspect examines the potential for direct impacts to natural resources and communities as well asmore indirect impacts to quality-of-life in areas such as noise or aesthetics for area residents and thecommunities that align the Parkway facility. The environmental resources contained in the study areawere inventoried and their impacts were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively as appropriategiven the availability of quantitative data on a given resource. Resources were identified asconsiderations that would have to be dealt with in a future NEPA process should this study moveforward.2.3.2.4PreliminaryCapitalCostEstimatesThis aspect looks at the potential capital costs of widening the B-W Parkway, including operation andmaintenance costs, as the costs of such a widening must be justified.2.3.2.5PublicandPoliticalConsiderationsThis aspect examines the willingness of the public to see a study of this magnitude move forward in theregion. In particular, this criterion assesses the input of the public as well as the perspectives of severalmajor stakeholders of the study including elected officials, regional and local government agencies,economic development groups, business representatives, and others.2.3.2.6OwnershipandManagementThis aspect assesses the impacts of ownership and management of the Parkway and the implications ofa potential widening on these factors. The widening of the B-W Parkway could be determined to impairthe Parkway’s character and function sufficiently to warrant consideration of whether or not the facilitycould still be classified as a unit of the NPS.2.3LimitingConditionsSticking closely to the language of the congressional legislation, this study would be limited to theanalysis of adding general purpose vehicular travel lanes. Not under consideration as part of thisfeasibility study are any analyses of the potential for high occupancy vehicle lanes, bus-only lanes or busrapid transit lanes, electronic toll lanes or high occupancy toll lanes, or other fixed guideway transitoptions. This feasibility study is not a part of the NEPA process, so a full range of multimodalimprovements are not included in this study.Avoidance alternatives are those that entirely avoid the use of Section 4(f) properties. Section 4(f)prohibits the U.S. Department of Transportation from using land from publicly owned parks, wildlife andwaterfowl refuges, or public and private historical sites for a federally funded project unless there is nofeasible and prudent alternative to use of the land and all possible planning to minimize harm to theproperty has been included in the project. The identification and evaluation of avoidance alternatives isnot included in this feasibility study. The use of any NPS-owned properties, such as the B-W Parkwayitself, may require the conduct of a formal Section 4(f) evaluation.26 November 2012
Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility StudyAlternatives Definition3.0AlternativesDefinitionThe alternatives development process is a critical step in the feasibility study. It involved an interactiveand interdisciplinary approach for identifying, screening and evaluating alternatives for the potentialwidening of the B-W Parkway. This section describes the processes used during the initial identificationand preliminary screening of the widening alternatives.3.1MethodologyThe alternatives development process consisted of the following steps:1. Review of background Information.2. Determination of roadway deficiencies; existing and projected traffic operational performance;and environmental, transportation, land-use, demographics and community features.3. Identification of a reasonable range of alternatives from stakeholder input.4. Preliminary screening of highway alternatives based on criteria that addresses environmental,transportation, and physical design factors.5. Selection of widening options for further development.Using this methodology, a reasonable range of highway-oriented physical and operational improvementwidening alternatives for the B-W Parkway corridor was developed. Options were selected based ontheir ability to address the study’s goals and objectives for both current and future year conditions.3.1.1BackgroundInformationBackground information was taken from existing pertinent legislation, reports, plans, studies, maps, andother available information pertaining to transportation, land use, and environmental conditions in thestudy area from the study’s stakeholders, including the NPS, Maryland SHA, the District of ColumbiaDepartment of Transportation, the MWCOG, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC), the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George’s County, Maryland, and other sources asnecessary. This data was inventoried and documented in the Existing Conditions Technical Report,which is included as an appendix to this document.3.1.2PotentialSafetyIssuesandRoadwayDeficienciesThe scope of this feasibility study did not include a detailed safety analysis or interchange operationalanalysis. However, through a review of as-built roadway plans, stakeholder comments, aerialphotography, photos, and field observations of the study area, the team has identified some potentialconcerns that would require further study if this work advances further in the project developmentprocess.In general, the B-W Parkway corridor meets applicable geometric standards and guidelines for limitedaccess highways. The following areas of concern have been identified as potential topics for additionalexamination.27 November 2012
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