ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CHARLOTTE GATEWAY STATION

More documents

Recommendations

Info

• Charlotte Street Car – operating along Trade Street with service every 5 -10 minutes. The Streetcar system would eventually extend from Eastland Mall, five miles to the east, to the Rosa Parks Place transit Center along Beatty’s Ford Road. Additional service would extend from CGS to the Charlotte Douglas Airport, eight miles to the west, as part of the West Corridor transit program. • Southeast Corridor – rapid transit from the Town of Matthews, 12 miles to the east, along the Southeast Corridor, currently planned as a BRT system, would serve the CGS on either Graham or Trade Streets. • Gateway Plaza – a public plaza to serve as a focal point for a mix of travelers, residents, workers and students. The plaza would include a variety of retail, public art and access to the various transportation facilities. • Private mixed-use development including air rights is envisioned on the CGS site. In addition, substantial complementary privately-funded mixed-used development will be constructed on adjacent NCDOT-owned property consistent with a Master Plan to be developed by NCDOT and Charlotte. S.2 Purpose of the EA In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and regulations and guidance from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), this EA evaluates the social, economic, environmental, and transportation impacts that would result from implementation of CGS. The EA includes: • Analysis necessary to identify the social, economic, environmental, and transportation impacts of implementing CGS, as compared to the no-action alternative and a minimalaction base case; • Opportunities to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts; • Projected project costs; The No-Action Alternative consists of the existing transportation facilities, plus committed transportation improvements, including projects under construction, projects in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MUMPOs) Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), and bus service improvements to which area transit providers have made financial commitments. The minimal-action base case includes facilities to accommodate NCCR service and on-street transit service. S.3 Planning Background and Decision Making History Planning for a multimodal station in Center City Charlotte has advanced on two separate fronts – as an integral component of the Charlotte regional transit program and separately as a key intercity rail passenger facility for current Amtrak service and future Southeast High Speed Rail service. The NCDOT began acquiring property for station development in 1998. Property acquisition totaling 27 acres was completed in February 2004. A 2002 feasibility study examined seven different station design options and eight different track layouts. Eighty-four meetings were held with various stakeholders, both public and private, to assist Charlotte Gateway Station S-4 EA
in the development of the conceptual plan. The MPO has supported the concept of a new multi-modal facility in Charlotte throughout the NCDOT feasibility process. The CGS is a major transit component in the most recently adopted MPO LRTP (2005) and funding to support construction is listed in the MPO Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Transit Hub: Over the past decade, local elected officials and planners in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have focused on developing a fundamental, broad-based approach to addressing transportation and land use issues resulting from the large population growth that began in the 1990s. Population is expected to nearly double between 2000 and 2030. Efforts have centered on encouraging land use development that sustains the economic growth and vitality of the region, promotes use of public transportation, and protects, sustains and grows local communities and neighborhoods. In 1994, the City completed a visionary report entitled “Centers and Corridors,” which recommended building rapid transit corridors into Charlotte as a means to address congestion and focus regional population growth. This was followed in 1998 with a comprehensive guide for transportation and land use development, called the 2025 Integrated Transit/Land-Use Plan. The plan incorporated technical analysis, public outreach, and extensive hands-on public involvement to develop long-term recommendations for shaping the region’s growth. To fund implementation of this plan, Mecklenburg County voters were asked to endorse a one-half cent increase in the local sales tax. In November 1998, 58 percent of the voters took the extraordinary step of approving the sales tax increase, which generates an average of $65 million annually to fund the costs of the existing transit system and to fund the local share of future rapid transit corridor programs. Following approval of the sales tax increase, the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) identified five rapid transit corridors deemed essential to achieving the desired land use and transportation objectives of the region, along with a new multimodal facility in Center City Charlotte. The MTC directed that a Major Investment Study (MIS) be completed for each of the corridors, analyzing alternative transit improvements and developing the information required to recommend corridor alignments and technology. In November 2002, the MTC adopted the System Corridor Plan. The Plan recommended a comprehensive, integrated system of improvements in the five transit corridors and Center City Charlotte and construction of a multimodal station to support the land use and mobility objectives within available financial resources. This plan was updated in November of 2006, when the MTC approved the CATS 2030 Corridor System Plan. It establishes the scheduling and prioritization of the CATS rapid transit program and defines the set of transit modes that would serve the CGS facility. A schematic of all of CATS rapid transit corridors is provided in Figure S.3-1. CGS would serve four of these corridors: • NCCR, the LYNX Purple Line – an eleven station commuter rail line that would terminate at CGS in the south and extend for approximately 25 miles north to Mount Mourne, with future service to downtown Mooresville, some 5 miles further to the north. Some 4,500 commuters are expected to use the trains each day. • The Southeast Corridor, the LYNX Silver Line – an eleven station, 13-mile BRT system would terminate at CGS. In excess of 17,000 passengers are expected to use Southeast Corridor buses each day. Charlotte Gateway Station S-5 EA
Page 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CHARLOTTE
Page 5 and 6: 3.1.4 Impacts and Benefits ........
Page 7 and 8: 4.0 Transportation ................
Page 9 and 10: Figure 2.2-1. CGS and Adjacent Tran
Page 11 and 12: S.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This chapter
Page 13: Figure S.1-1. Concept Renderings of
Page 17 and 18: • The Charlotte Streetcar Corrido
Page 19 and 20: • Other new bus services to which
Page 21 and 22: Table S.5-1 presents a summary of t
Page 23 and 24: Table S.5-2. NCCR Secondary Effects
Page 25 and 26: Table S.7-1. Summary of Mitigation
Page 27 and 28: multimodal station at Trade Street
Page 29 and 30: 1.0 PURPOSE AND NEED This Chapter d
Page 31 and 32: Figure 1.1-1. Charlotte Gateway Sta
Page 33 and 34: Conceptual illustrations, architect
Page 35 and 36: 1.2 Purpose and Need Construction o
Page 37 and 38: Another key component in the CATS 2
Page 39 and 40: mixed use transportation and econom
Page 41 and 42: 2.0 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED This ch
Page 43 and 44: Figure 2.2-1. CGS and Adjacent Tran
Page 45 and 46: above the Greyhound depot with capa
Page 47 and 48: Projected Transportation Services
Page 49 and 50: • handrails on ramps and stairs
Page 51 and 52: Commuter Rail Platforms & Bridges $
Page 53 and 54: TABLE OF CONTENTS 3.0 Affected Envi
Page 55 and 56: 3.15 Environmental Justice ........
Page 57 and 58: comprehensive plans, small area pla
Page 59 and 60: Figure 3.1-1. Percent of Population
Page 61 and 62: Figure 3.1-3. Generalized Existing
Page 63 and 64: The City of Charlotte has adopted a
Page 65 and 66:
3.1.4.1 Population Population Serve
Page 67 and 68:
of the CGS site has increased 55 pe
Page 69 and 70:
3.2.4 Environmental Impacts and Ben
Page 71 and 72:
3.3.3.2 Community Facilities and Re
Page 73 and 74:
Figure 3.3-2. Community Facilities
Page 75 and 76:
3.4 Visual and Aesthetic Quality Ma
Page 77 and 78:
3.4.4 Environmental Impacts and Ben
Page 79 and 80:
In July of 1997, EPA added PM2.5 as
Page 81 and 82:
3.6 Noise 3.6.1 Legal and Regulator
Page 83 and 84:
3.7.3 Terrestrial Ecology 3.7.3.1 E
Page 85 and 86:
3.7.3.3 Mitigation The implementati
Page 87 and 88:
3.7.4.2 Environmental Consequences
Page 89 and 90:
Indirect Effects to Protected Speci
Page 91 and 92:
Table 3.8-1. Surface Water Resource
Page 93 and 94:
Catawba River Basin Riparian Buffer
Page 95 and 96:
3.8.4 Environmental Consequences Ge
Page 97 and 98:
vegetative buffers, grass swales, c
Page 99 and 100:
3.9.4 Mitigation Because the Build
Page 101 and 102:
During the research phase, the arch
Page 103 and 104:
3.10.3.2 Archaeological Resources T
Page 105 and 106:
3.11 Parks and Recreation Areas 3.1
Page 107 and 108:
3.12 Hazardous Materials/Undergroun
Page 109 and 110:
Petroleum and Residual Contaminatio
Page 111 and 112:
incident (#8097) is currently open
Page 113 and 114:
3.12.4.1 AOC Summary The number of
Page 115 and 116:
Table 3.13-1 Reasonably Foreseeable
Page 117 and 118:
Table 3.13-2 CGS Secondary Effects
Page 119 and 120:
Corridor commuter rail service woul
Page 121 and 122:
3.13.6.1 Transportation and Traffic
Page 123 and 124:
Greyhound bus or ride Amtrak. By ma
Page 125 and 126:
3.14.5 Air Quality The project is l
Page 127 and 128:
Temporary sediment traps or hazardo
Page 129 and 130:
Figure 3.15-1. Minority Areas Charl
Page 131 and 132:
3.15.4 Environmental Impacts and Be
Page 133 and 134:
3.15.4.4 Human Health Issues Air Po
Page 135 and 136:
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4.0 Transportatio
Page 137 and 138:
4.0 Transportation 4.1 Transportati
Page 139 and 140:
Center City Charlotte. Figure 4.2-1
Page 141 and 142:
Intersection turning movement count
Page 143 and 144:
Figure 4.3-1: At-Grade Parking Disp
Page 145 and 146:
Figure 4.3-3: Parking Deck and Grey
Page 147 and 148:
Table 4.3-5: 2010 Curbside Approach
Page 149 and 150:
of the CGS would have no impact on
Page 151 and 152:
5.0 REFERENCES Charlotte Area Trans
Page 153 and 154:
North Carolina Department of Enviro
Page 155 and 156:
6.0 LIST OF PREPARERS FEDERAL TRANS
Page 157 and 158:
Larry Kopf (CATS) Chief Operations
Page 159 and 160:
Jason L. Field, PE (NCDOT) Crossing
Page 161 and 162:
PB Americas, Inc. (PB) Mary Clayton
Page 163 and 164:
Jonathan Reid, PE, PTOE (PB) Lead T
Page 165 and 166:
Chetlur Balachandran, PhD (PB) Nois
Page 167 and 168:
Foster Nichols (PB) Train Performan
Page 169 and 170:
Mattson, Alexander and Associates,
Page 171 and 172:
7.0 LETTERS (Charlotte Zoning, FRA
Page 173 and 174:
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CULTUR
Page 175 and 176:
8.0 PUBLIC COMMENTS The draft Envir
Page 177 and 178:
COMMENT 5: SECTION(S) OF ENVIRONMEN
Page 179 and 180:
and environmental impact of assembl
Page 181 and 182:
There are many examples of cities t
Page 183 and 184:
COMMENT 8: SECTION(S) OF ENVIRONMEN
Page 185 and 186:
planned stadium for AAA baseball, a
Page 187:
Goal Three of the CGS Project, as d
show all

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CHARLOTTE GATEWAY STATION

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?