Environmental Justice Discipline Report Duportail Bridge Project, City of Richland, WA
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Environmental Justice Discipline Report Duportail Bridge Project, City of Richland, WA Prepared by: Federal Highway Administration 711 South Capitol Way, Suite 501 Olympia, WA 98501 Washington State Department of Transportation P.O. Box 12560 Yakima, WA 98909 October,January 24, 2011 2011 This page left blank intentionally for printing purposes. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 What alternatives were analyzed? ............................................................................................... 1 What is the No Build alternative? ............................................................................................... 1 What are the principal features of the build alternative? ............................................................ 1 What is the purpose of the project? ............................................................................................. 2 How was the Preferred Alternative Selected? ............................................................................ 4 What are the key points of this report? ....................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: Existing Conditions ...................................................................................................... 7 How did we Collect Information on Environmental Justice for this Report?............................. 7 What is the study area for this Environmental Justice analysis? ................................................ 8 Are there gathering places, businesses, or services in or near the study area that are important to environmental justice populations? ...................................................................................... 10 What are the community cohesion and population characteristics in the study area? .............. 11 What are the growth trends in the study area? .......................................................................... 11 Chapter 3: Public Involvement .................................................................................................... 12 How will minority or low-income populations be involved? ................................................... 12 What public involvement activities are ongoing? ..................................................................... 13 Chapter 4: Potential Effects ......................................................................................................... 13 What methods did we use to evaluate potential effects on EJ populations? ............................. 13 What are the potential construction effects? ............................................................................. 15 What are the operational effects? .............................................................................................. 16 What are the indirect effects of the project? ............................................................................. 17 What are the cumulative effects of the project? ........................................................................ 18 Chapter 5: Measures to Avoid or Minimize Project Effects ......................................................... 18 How will we avoid or minimize adverse effects from construction? ....................................... 18 How will we avoid or minimize permanent adverse effects from the project? ........................ 19 Chapter 6: Environmental Justice Determination ......................................................................... 19 Will this project have disproportionately high and adverse effects on minority or low-income populations? .............................................................................................................................. 19 References ..................................................................................................................................... 21 Personal Communications .................................................................................................... 21 Documents and Publications ................................................................................................. 21 Web ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Acronyms and Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 23 Appendix A: Methods .................................................................................................................. 25 Appendix B: Supporting Documents ........................................................................................... 29 Exhibits Exhibit 1: Vicinity Map ................................................................................................................. 3 Exhibit 2: Corridor Alternatives Considered Map ......................................................................... 5 Exhibit 3: Study Area North of Proposed Bridge, Census Tract 103 Map ..................................... 9 Exhibit 4: Study Area South of Proposed Bridge, Census Tract 108.03 Map .............................. 10 Exhibit 5: Income Demographic for Census Tracts 103 and 108.3- 2000 Census Table ............. 13 Exhibit 6: Race Demographic for Census Tracts 103 and 108.3- 2006-2008 Census Table ........ 13 Exhibit 7: School Demographic Data Table ................................................................................. 14 Chapter 1: Introduction What alternatives were analyzed? This report includes analysis of one build alternative and one “no build” or “no action” alternative. The report also suggests a range of mitigation measures to relieve any potential negative effects on Environmental Justice populations. This approach is consistent with FHWA’s guidelines for preparing a NEPA EA. What is the No Build alternative? The No Build Alternative is assumed to maintain the status quo: only routine activities such as road maintenance, repair, and safety improvements would occur within the corridor between now and 2032. The No Build Alternative does not include improvements that would increase roadway capacity or reduce congestion on feeder streets to I-182 or other surface streets in the City of Richland. What are the principal features of the build alternative? . Construction of a four lane bridge; with two 11-foot travel lanes and a 12-foot pedestrian/bicycle path on the upriver side of the bridge. Sidewalks will be installed between City View Drive and Tanglewood Drive to connect with the existing network. The north-east segment of Duportail Street will be extended south to connect with the proposed bridge, and will be widened north, to between Cottonwood Drive and Birch Avenue; sidewalks will be added where needed to connect with the existing network. Tanglewood Drive will be extended eastward to intersect with Duportail Street north of the proposed bridge and terminate in a dead end approximately 700 feet east of the proposed intersection. The intersection of Duportail Street and SR 240 will be upgraded to handle higher traffic volumes. The BNSF railroad tracks running parallel to SR 240 will be raised to the same grade as the intersection of SR 240 and Duportail Street. SR 240 will be widened on both sides of intersection with Duportail Street due to the addition of right turn exit lanes from SR 240 onto Duportail Street. A new access road will be built from Tanglewood Drive cul-de-sac behind the Shoreline Village apartment complex east of Duportail Street to the Desert Streams Bible Church. The existing water main crossing within the Yakima River will be replaced and placed on the bridge. The existing CID (Columbia Irrigation District) canal south of the proposed bridge will be enclosed under the proposed bridge. A drainage/detention pond will be installed southeast of the intersection of Duportail Street and Tanglewood Drive. The existing parking lot used to access the boat launch and trails on the north side of the bridge will be re-constructed. A trail will be constructed under the new bridge to connect with the existing riverfront trails on the north side of the bridge. 1 What is the purpose of the project? The purpose of this project is to create another crossing of the Yakima River to aid in the movement of traffic, and improve emergency vehicle response times from the south side of the Yakima River to the north by providing a bridge that will address current and future transportation needs. An additional north-south crossing in the city of Richland aims to improve mobility for cars, bicycles, pedestrians and public transit, and will alleviate current and future congestion within the SR 240 and I-182 corridor areas. All new pedestrian facilities will be designed to seamlessly blend with the existing facilities, and will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, as amended1. Refer to Figure 1 for a map depicting the proposed project. 1 Civil Rights Division. 2010. Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services. September 15. Department of Justice. Federal Register 75 (178): 56164-56358. Accessed January24, 2011. http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=4AwcwM/0/1/0&WAISaction=retrieve 2 0 0.25 0.5 1 Miles ¯ 1 in = 0.5 miles Columbia River Columbia Duportail Street Bridge Figure 1: Vicinity Map Duportail