Action
Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
Summary
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as the Federal lead agency, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), as the local lead agency, are issuing this notice to advise interested agencies and the public that a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR), referred to as an EIS/EIR, is being prepared for transit improvements in the Mid- City/Westside Transit Corridor in Los Angeles, California in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIS/EIR replaces the previous NEPA reviews by FTA and MTA of transit improvements in the Mid-City corridor, the most recent being "Los Angeles Rail Rapid Transit Project--Metro Rail Final Supplemental EIS/EIR for the Mid-City Segment from Wilshire/Western to Pico/San Vicente," August, 1992. The Mid-City extension of Metro Rail was suspended by the MTA Board of Directors in January 1998. The present EIS/EIR will study alternatives and extensions to the suspended subway in the Mid-City corridor and beyond to Santa Monica. In the course of this study, FTA expects the MTA and the Southern California Association of Governments, which is responsible for transportation planning in metropolitan Los Angeles, to establish priorities for the proposed transit improvements in the Mid-City corridor and the myriad of other competing projects and transit needs in the region. This prioritization of proposed projects and other transit needs will involve, among other considerations, the development of a financial plan that identifies for each capital need the non-Federal funds to be used along with the proposed Federal funding. FTA and MTA seek comments by interested parties and agencies on the scope of the Mid-City/Westside EIS/EIR. The date and location of public scoping meetings are provided below. The closing date for receiving comments on the scope of the EIS/EIR, and the address to which written comments should be sent, are also provided herein.