Appendix A RapidRide Roosevelt Project Scoping Report THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK FINAL REPORT RAPIDRIDE ROOSEVELT PROJECT SCOPING REPORT Prepared for Seattle Department of Transportation March 2019 (Updated January 2020) THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iii Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................................................................................................v 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Project Overview ............................................................................................................................ 1-1 2. Scoping process .............................................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 Overview of Scoping Process ................................................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Notification Process ..................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.3 Public and Agency/Tribal Scoping Meetings...................................................................... 2-2 3. Agency/Tribal Scoping .................................................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Agencies and Tribes Invited to Participate .......................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Agency/Tribal Scoping Meeting .............................................................................................. 3-1 4. Public Scoping ................................................................................................................ 4-1 4.1 Public Scoping Meeting .............................................................................................................. 4-1 4.2 Summary of Comments Received ........................................................................................... 4-1 4.2.1 Overview of Comments Received During Scoping ........................................... 4-1 4.2.2 Public Comment Summary ......................................................................................... 4-2 4.2.3 Comments Received after the Close of the Scoping Period .......................... 4-4 5. Next Steps ....................................................................................................................... 5-1 Appendices A Scoping Materials B Agency and Tribal Coordination Plan C Agency and Tribal Comments D Comments Received During Scoping Figures Figure 1-1 RapidRide Roosevelt Corridor .................................................................................................. 1-2 Tables Table 4-1 Key Comment Categories .......................................................................................................... 4-2 SL0215181403SEA iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADA Americans with Disabilities Act EA Environmental Assessment FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact FTA Federal Transit Administration KCM King County Metro NEPA National Environmental Policy Act PBL protected bicycle lane SDOT Seattle Department of Transportation SEPA State Environmental Policy Act TPSS traction power substation WSDOT Washington State Department of Transportation SL0215181403SEA v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 1. INTRODUCTION Early and continuing coordination with the general public, agencies, and tribes is an essential part of the environmental process. It helps planners determine the necessary scope of environmental documentation and the level of analysis required, and to identify potential impacts and avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation measures and related environmental requirements. To begin this process of engagement, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) conducted scoping from December 4, 2017, to January 12, 2018, for the RapidRide Roosevelt Project. The scoping process provides an initial opportunity for interested agencies, tribes, and members of the public to comment on the purpose and need, alternatives to be studied, and issues to be addressed in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment (EA). 1.1 Project Overview SDOT, in cooperation with FTA, is proposing the RapidRide Roosevelt Project. King County Metro is a funding partner and the transit agency operator. The project would provide electric trolley bus rapid transit service along a 6-mile corridor between Downtown Seattle and the Roosevelt neighborhood in northeast Seattle. The RapidRide Roosevelt Project would also serve the Belltown, South Lake Union, Eastlake, and University District neighborhoods. The RapidRide Roosevelt route extends from Third Ave in downtown Seattle to NE 65th Street; however, project improvements would only be provided north of Third Ave along Virginia and Stewart Streets to the northern end of the route and would include: • 26 new RapidRide stations (13 for each direction of travel) from Third Ave to NE 65th St with service south to 9 existing stations along Third Ave in Downtown Seattle to the International District. Stations would be identifiable as part of the RapidRide system and include real-time arrival information and off-board payment. • New poles and overhead wires added north of the University Bridge to power trolley buses. • A new traction power substation or TPSS (source of electric power) in the northern portion of the project. • Northern bus layover options, where buses would park between runs. • Protected bicycle lanes along 11th/12th Avenues NE, Eastlake Ave E, and Fairview Ave N. • Sidewalk improvements to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements. • Intersection upgrades to improve safety for pedestrians accessing the stations, including sidewalk repairs and crosswalk striping. • Paving along sections of 11th and 12th Avenues NE and Eastlake Ave E. Bus service will be provided along Third Ave south of Virginia and Stewart Streets using existing RapidRide stations. Figures 1-1 illustrates the proposed RapidRide Roosevelt route. SL0215181403SEA 1-1 SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION Figure 1-1 RapidRide Roosevelt Corridor SL0215181403SEA 1-2 . 2. SCOPING PROCESS 2.1 Overview of Scoping Process The RapidRide Roosevelt Project is seeking funding from the FTA’s Small Starts program and must comply with NEPA requirements to sufficiently evaluate the project merits and possible environmental impacts. FTA determined that the appropriate environmental documentation for the RapidRide Roosevelt Project is an EA. To begin the environmental process, SDOT and FTA initiated project scoping to inform agencies, tribes, and the public about the project and the project purpose and need, as well as to develop a two-way conversation about the range of issues to be addressed in the environmental document and potential concerns related to the proposed project. A 40-day comment period began on December 4, 2017, and ended on January 12, 2018. The public, agencies, and tribes were invited to comment on the project purpose and need, alternatives, and issues to be addressed in the EA during that time. Two scoping meetings were held, one for agencies and tribes and another for the community, businesses, and residents. The meetings provided an opportunity to receive in-person information on the project’s design and to discuss potential environmental impacts. 2.2 Notification Process A number of methods were used to inform agencies, tribes, and the public of the scoping period and meetings. Appendix A, Scoping Materials, provides copies of notifications and some of the materials used for the meetings. Notifications for meetings included the following methods: • Approximately 43,000 notices (project mailers) were sent to residents and businesses within 0.25 mile of the project corridor, from the International District to the Roosevelt neighborhood, prior to the start of scoping. These mailers provided information on the time and location of the scoping meeting, background on the project, access to the project website, and information on how to provide comments and be involved in the project. The project mailer included information in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Arabic on how to receive translated materials. No requests for translated materials were received. • Legal notices were posted in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce and the Washington State Department of Ecology and City of Seattle State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) registers. • Email updates were sent to SDOT’s collected project stakeholder and interested parties list to announce the public scoping period and public scoping meeting prior to the beginning of the scoping period, and again on the day of comment period opening. • Scoping materials were made available at the Central Public Library (1000 4th Ave) and the University Branch Public Library (5009 Roosevelt Way NE). SL0215181403SEA 2-1 SECTION 2 – SCOPING PROCESS Scoping period materials and notices of the public scoping meeting were posted on the project website at https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/transit- program/rapid-ride/roosevelt-rapidride. 2.3 Public and Agency/Tribal Scoping Meetings Two scoping meetings were held in December 2017. A public scoping meeting