Irving Park Addison Roscoe Belmont in partnership with Diversey Fullerton Cortland North Division Environmental Chicago Assessment Grand Lake Madison Jackson Harrison Polk Bus Roosevelt 18th Blue Island Rapid 31st Ashland Transit 35th November 2013 Pershing 43rd 47th 51st Garfield 59th 63rd 69th 74th Prepared for: The Federal Transit Administration 79th 83rd 87th 91st 95th Prepared by Ashland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project Environmental Assessment November 14, 2013 Ashland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project Environmental Assessment Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................ES-1 Purpose and Need ...................................................................................................... ES-1 Environmental Resources, Impacts and Mitigation ..................................................... ES-2 Opportunity for Public Comment ................................................................................. ES-5 1. PURPOSE AND NEED ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Project Background ............................................................................................... 2 1.3 Needs to be Addressed ......................................................................................... 4 1.4 Project Purpose ..................................................................................................... 5 2. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED ............................................................................................... 9 2.1 Alternatives Development Process........................................................................ 9 2.2 No-Build Alternative ............................................................................................. 11 2.3 Build Alternative .................................................................................................. 13 3. TRANSPORTATION CONDITIONS AND ANALYSIS ........................................................... 19 3.1 Traffic Analysis .................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Traffic Mitigation .................................................................................................. 35 3.3 Parking Impact Analysis ...................................................................................... 47 3.4 Transit Operational Analysis ............................................................................... 50 4. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ....................... 55 4.1 Displacements and Relocation of Existing Uses ................................................. 55 4.2 Land Use and Economic Development ............................................................... 55 4.3 Neighborhoods and Communities ....................................................................... 59 4.4 Historical and Archaeological Resources ............................................................ 64 4.5 Parklands and Recreational Resources .............................................................. 67 4.6 Visual Quality ...................................................................................................... 70 4.7 Noise and Vibration ............................................................................................. 72 4.8 Air Quality ............................................................................................................ 74 4.9 Water Resources ................................................................................................. 77 4.10 Biological Resources ........................................................................................... 79 4.11 Geology and Soils ............................................................................................... 81 Page i Ashland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project Environmental Assessment 4.12 Hazardous Materials ........................................................................................... 82 4.13 Energy ................................................................................................................. 83 4.14 Safety and Security ............................................................................................. 84 4.15 Environmental Justice Communities ................................................................... 85 4.16 Temporary Construction Impacts ........................................................................ 88 4.17 Indirect Effects and Cumulative Impacts ............................................................. 90 5. AGENCY COORDINATION AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ................................................. 93 5.1 Agency Coordination ........................................................................................... 93 5.2 Public Involvement Plan ...................................................................................... 93 5.3 EA Distribution and Public Comment Period ....................................................... 95 6. REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 97 List of Figures Figure 1-1: Study Area Overview Map .......................................................................................... 6 Figure 2-1: No-Build Alternative .................................................................................................. 12 Figure 2-2: Build Alternative (Preferred Alternative) ................................................................... 14 Figure 2-3: Ashland Avenue BRT Project Phasing Limits ........................................................... 16 Figure 3-1: Right-of-Way and Street Width Extents .................................................................... 20 Figure 3-2: Typical Existing Ashland Avenue Roadway Configuration ....................................... 21 Figure 3-3: Typical Proposed Ashland Avenue Roadway Configuration .................................... 21 Figure 3-4: Diversion Analysis Study Area ................................................................................. 25 Figure 3-5: Existing and Build Conditions AM Peak Hour Level of Service (1 of 2) .................... 31 Figure 3-6: Existing and Build Conditions AM Peak Hour Level of Service (2 of 2) .................... 32 Figure 3-7: Existing and Build Conditions PM Peak Hour Level of Service (1 of 2) .................... 33 Figure 3-8: Existing and Build Conditions PM Peak Hour Level of Service (2 of 2) .................... 34 Figure 3-9: Existing and Mitigated (inside curb-to-curb) Build Conditions AM Peak Hour Level of Service (1 of 2) ...................................................................................................... 39 Figure 3-10: Existing and Mitigated (inside curb-to-curb) Build Conditions AM Peak Hour Level of Service (2 of 2) ................................................................................................. 40 Figure 3-11: Existing and Mitigated (inside curb-to-curb) Build Conditions PM Peak Hour Level of Service (1 of 2) .................................................................................................. 41 Figure 3-12: Existing and Mitigated (inside curb-to-curb) Build Conditions PM Peak Hour Level of Service (2 of 2) .................................................................................................. 42 Figure 4-1: Existing Land Use (1 of 2) ........................................................................................ 56 Figure 4-2: Existing Land Use (2 of 2) ........................................................................................ 57 Figure 4-3: Intersecting Neighborhoods (1 of 2) ......................................................................... 61 Figure 4-4: Intersecting Neighborhoods (2 of 2) ......................................................................... 62 Page ii Ashland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project Environmental Assessment Figure 4-5: Parklands (1 of 2) ..................................................................................................... 68 Figure 4-6: Parklands (2 of 2) ..................................................................................................... 69 Figure 4-7: Current Visual Conditions at Select Intersections along Ashland Avenue................ 71 Figure 4-8: Build Alternative Station and Alignment Concepts ................................................... 71 List of Tables Table ES-1: Summary of Impacts ........................................................................................... ES-2 Table 2-1: No-Build Alternative Transit Operational Service Characteristics .............................. 12 Table 2-2: Phase 1 Implementation Schedule (Cortland Street to 31st Street) ........................... 15 Table 2-3: Phase 2 Implementation Schedule (31st Street to 95th Street and Cortland Street to Irving Park Road) ................................................................................................... 15 Table 3-1: Existing Ashland Avenue Right-of-Way and Curb-to-Curb Widths ............................ 21 Table 3-2: Percent Change between Existing Conditions and Build Conditions by Routes ....... 27 Table 3-3: Percent Change