Draft Environmental Impact Statement
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St. Louis Metro South MetroLink Extension City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri Draft Environmental Impact Statement Prepared by U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration And East-West Gateway Council of Governments In Cooperation with Metro And Missouri Department of Transportation November 2005 Volume I of II DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT St. Louis Metro South MetroLink Extension Abstract This document describes and summarizes the social, economic, environmental, and transportation impacts and costs of the transit and supporting facilities being considered for the Metro South Extension of the MetroLink Light Rail Transit (LRT) System into south St. Louis County, Missouri. The proposed project is an improvement to the transportation system in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County for which East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCOG) may seek federal transit assistance. A full range of modal alternatives for the Metro South corridor was studied during the Cross-County Major Transportation Investment Analysis in 1995-1997. In September 1997, the EWGCC (now EWGCOG) Board of Directors selected an LRT extension to central and south St. Louis County. The Cross-County extension to mid-county is now under construction. This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) analyzes the No- Build, TSM, and Build Alternatives for the Metro South extension into south St. Louis County with respect to their capital and operating/maintenance costs, and considers their potential effects on transportation service and traffic, socioeconomic, and physical environmental factors. The information contained in this DEIS will be used by EWGCOG and the Federal Transit Administration in making a decision on whether to implement the proposed project. There is a minimum 45-day public review period for this DEIS that begins on November 18, 2005 and concludes on January 6, 2006. A public hearing will be conducted on December 13, 2005 from 4:00-7:00pm at the following location: Holiday Inn St. Louis-South County Center 6921 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri 63125 Comments For further information concerning this document, contact the following individuals: FTA Regional Contact: EWGCOG Contact: Ms. Joan Roeseler Ms. Donna Day Director, Planning & Program Development Division Manager, Transportation Corridor 816-329-3936 Improvement Group Federal Transit Administration 314-421-4220 901 Locust St., Room 404 East-West Gateway Council of Governments Kansas City, MO 64106 One Memorial Drive, Suite 1600 St. Louis, MO 63102 Draft Environmental Impact Statement St. Louis Metro South MetroLink Extension St. Louis Metro South MetroLink Extension City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri Draft Environmental Impact Statement Volume I Executive Summary Preface Chapter 1.0 - Purpose and Need Chapter 2.0 - Alternatives Considered Chapter 3.0 - Affected Environment Chapter 4.0 - Transportation Impacts Chapter 5.0 - Environmental Consequences Chapter 6.0 - Evaluation of Alternatives Chapter 7.0 - Section 4(f) Evaluation Chapter 8.0 - Supplementary Information Volume II Appendix A: Plan & Profile Drawings/Typical Sections Appendix B: Station Area Plans Appendix C: Metro South MetroLink Extension AA/DEIS: Task VI Operating Plans for Detailed Alternatives (August 2004) Appendix D: Metro South MetroLink Extension AA/DEIS: Ridership Forecasting and Methodology Report (December 2004) Appendix E: Robert Cervero, St. Louis MetroLink South Ridership Fore- casts: Second Revised Estimates for Modified Alignments Using Local and National “Direct” Ridership Forecasting Models (August 2004) Appendix F: Walkability Index Appendix G: Public Involvement Appendix H: Agency Coordination November 2005 Page i Draft Environmental Impact Statement St. Louis Metro South MetroLink Extension TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ............................................................................................ i Background....................................................................................................i Federal-State Relationship in the Development of the DEIS .......................ii Organization of the Report ...........................................................................v Support Documents.....................................................................................vii Next Steps in the Decision-Making Process..............................................viii 1.0 Purpose and Need................................................................1-1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................1-1 1.2 Study Area Characteristics .................................................................1-4 1.2.1 Study Area Description................................................................1-4 1.2.2 Existing Transportation Network and Facilities...........................1-4 1.3 Planning Context................................................................................1-8 1.3.1 Regional Transportation Goals and Objectives............................1-8 1.3.2 Project Development Process.....................................................1-10 1.3.3 Results of Project Scoping .........................................................1-12 1.3.4 Other Transportation/Land-Use Studies.....................................1-12 1.4 Statement of Purpose and Need.......................................................1-14 1.4.1 Problems and Opportunities.......................................................1-14 1.4.2 Goals and Objectives ...................................................................1-24 2.0 Alternatives Considered .....................................................2-1 2.1 Background ........................................................................................2-1 2.2 Development and Screening of Project Alternatives .........................2-2 2.2.1 Types of Alternatives Considered ................................................2-2 2.2.2 Major Mode and Route Choices...................................................2-3 2.2.3 Identification of Candidate Station Locations..............................2-4 2.2.4 Development of a Full Range of Transit System Alternatives.....2-4 2.2.5 Selection Criteria and Screening Process.....................................2-5 2.2.6 Resultant List of Preliminary Alternatives for Further Analysis .2-7 2.2.7 Further Screening and Refinement of Preliminary Alternatives..2-9 2.2.8 Appropriate Terminal Locations................................................2-15 2.2.9 Final List of Alternatives............................................................2-18 2.3 Description of the EIS Alternatives .................................................2-18 2.3.1 No-Build Alternative..................................................................2-18 2.3.2 TSM Alternative.........................................................................2-24 2.3.3 Blue Alternative to Butler Hill Road..........................................2-29 2.3.4 Blue Alternative to Watson Road...............................................2-35 2.3.5 Orange Alternative to Reavis Barracks, or Butler Hill Road.....2-36 2.3.6 Purple Alternative.......................................................................2-42 2.4 Operating Characteristics and Costs ................................................2-43 2.4.1 Light Rail (MetroLink) Operations ............................................2-44 2.4.2 Feeder Buses...............................................................................2-47 November 2005 Page i Draft Environmental Impact Statement St. Louis Metro South MetroLink Extension 2.4.3 Operating and Maintenance Costs..............................................2-47 2.5 Capital Costs.....................................................................................2-48 3.0 Affected Environment ........................................................ 3-1 3.1 Demographics and Socioeconomic Conditions..................................3-1 3.1.1 Demographic Characteristics.......................................................3-1 3.1.2 Income and Employment..............................................................3-9 3.1.3 Housing......................................................................................3-18 3.1.4 Environmental Justice Considerations.......................................3-18 3.2 Community Facilities and Services..................................................3-21 3.2.1 Service Areas..............................................................................3-21 3.2.2 Activity Centers..........................................................................3-22 3.2.3 Land-Use and Economic Development Issues...........................3-22 3.2.4 Hazardous Waste Sites...............................................................3-27 3.3 Cultural Resources...........................................................................3-28 3.3.1 Historic and Archeological Resources .......................................3-29 3.3.2 Parklands and Conservation Areas.............................................3-30 3.4 Natural Resources.............................................................................3-31 3.4.1 Air Quality..................................................................................3-31 3.4.2 Noise and Vibration....................................................................3-34 3.4.3 Wildlife Resources.....................................................................3-34