Environmental Assessment Illinois Terminal Expansion at the Yards Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Champaign, Illinois May 2021 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Project History ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Project Description .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.3. Project Location ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.4. Project Schedule .................................................................................................................................. 3 1.5. Comments on the Environmental Assessment .................................................................................... 4 2. Purpose and Need for the Illinois Terminal Expansion ................................................................................ 6 2.1. Purpose of the Project ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Need for the Project ............................................................................................................................ 6 3. Alternatives ................................................................................................................................................ 11 3.1. No Build Alternative ........................................................................................................................... 11 3.2. Build Alternative ................................................................................................................................ 12 4. Environmental Resources, Impacts, and Mitigation Measures ................................................................. 17 4.1. Environmental Issue Areas Requiring No Further Evaluation............................................................ 17 4.2. Transportation ................................................................................................................................... 18 4.3. Land Use Compatibility ...................................................................................................................... 28 4.4. Neighborhoods and Community Resources ...................................................................................... 35 4.5. Land Acquisitions and Relocations .................................................................................................... 39 4.6. Economics .......................................................................................................................................... 41 4.7. Visual Resources and Aesthetics ........................................................................................................ 44 4.8. Cultural Resources ............................................................................................................................. 47 4.9. Environmental Justice ........................................................................................................................ 51 4.10. Safety and Security .......................................................................................................................... 59 4.11. Utilities ............................................................................................................................................. 61 4.12. Water Resources, Geology, and Soils .............................................................................................. 63 4.13. Hazardous Materials ........................................................................................................................ 67 4.14. Noise and Vibration ......................................................................................................................... 75 4.15. Air Quality ........................................................................................................................................ 82 4.16. Threatened and Endangered Species .............................................................................................. 84 4.17. Indirect and Cumulative Effects ....................................................................................................... 86 i Environmental Assessment 5. Section 4(f) Evaluation ............................................................................................................................... 92 5.1. Legal/Regulatory Context and Methodology .................................................................................... 92 5.2. Existing Conditions ............................................................................................................................. 93 5.3. Environmental Impacts ...................................................................................................................... 93 5.4. Measures to Avoid or Minimize Harm ............................................................................................... 94 5.5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 94 6. Public Involvement and Agency Coordination ........................................................................................... 95 6.1. Public Outreach .................................................................................................................................. 95 6.2. Environmental Justice Outreach ........................................................................................................ 96 6.3. Agency Coordination .......................................................................................................................... 97 7. Preparers .................................................................................................................................................... 98 8. References ................................................................................................................................................ 100 Figures Figure 1. Illinois Terminal Expansion Project .................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Illinois Terminal Expansion Project Area .......................................................................................... 3 Figure 3. Project Schedule............................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 4. Crashes near the Illinois Terminal (2005 – 2019) ............................................................................. 7 Figure 5. Site Layout for First Floor of Illinois Terminal Expansion .............................................................. 13 Figure 6. Site Layout for Second Floor of Illinois Terminal Expansion ..................................................... 13 Figure 7. Second Floor Pedestrian Connections ........................................................................................... 14 Figure 8. Site Layout for Illinois Terminal Expansion .................................................................................... 15 Figure 9. Universal Transfer Platform and Driveway Utilization ................................................................... 20 Figure 10. Total Weekday Local and Intercity Buses at Illinois Terminal (15-Minute Intervals) .................. 20 Figure 11. Parking Lots within or adjacent to Project Area .......................................................................... 22 Figure 12. Parking Lot Relocation ................................................................................................................. 25 Figure 13. Temporary Bus Staging during Construction ............................................................................... 27 Figure 14. Existing Land Use .......................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 15. Parcel Ownership ......................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 16. Downtown Future Land Use ........................................................................................................ 32 ii Environmental Assessment Figure 17. Community Resources within 0.25 mile of the Project Area ....................................................... 36 Figure 18. View from University Avenue Looking South ............................................................................... 46 Figure 19. View from Walnut Street and Logan Street, Looking North ........................................................ 46 Figure 20. Architectural Resources Survey Results - Overview .................................................................... 50 Figure 21. Minority Population in the Study Area ........................................................................................ 54 Figure 22. Low Income Population within Study Area .................................................................................. 56 Figure 23. Storm and Sanitary Sewer Facilities