Action
Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Summary
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (the Federal co-lead agencies) and the Port Authority of Allegheny County (the local lead agency), in cooperation with the City of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for transportation improvements in the North Shore-Central Business District (CBD) Corridor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The EIS is being prepared in conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and will also satisfy the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA). The City of Pittsburgh and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission (SPRPC) initiated the North Shore/CBD Transportation Corridor Major Investment Study (MIS) in Fall 1997. Under the MIS, a long list of road and transit alternatives were generated and analyzed for their physical feasibility and ability to serve the needs of the corridor. This list was screened to a short list of alternatives which will be analyzed under the EIS. The EIS will evaluate a No-Build Alternative, a Transportation System Management (TSM) Alternative which includes enhanced bus service and pedestrian facilities, and the Build Alternatives which would include one or more of the following transportation projects: two Intermodal Transportation Centers (ITC's), a ramp from an ITC to a highway, a people mover system including a possible low-speed Maglev technology, and an extension of Port Authority's existing light rail transit line into the North Shore.