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, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />September 11, 2012 <br /> <br /> <br />The Honorable Kitty Piercy <br />Mayor of Eugene, and <br />Eugene City Council <br />777 Pearl Street, Room 105 <br />Eugene, OR 97401-2793 <br /> <br />Dear Mayor Piercy and Council Members: <br /> <br />Lane Transit District (LTD) is pleased to present responses to the public comments received regarding the <br />federal Environmental Assessment (EA) of the West Eugene EmX Extension project as the Eugene City <br />Council considers its process for a formal reaffirmation of the project. The EA is an element of the Federal <br />(FTA) <br />requirements. On July 13, 2012, after more than a year of comprehensive review and refinement of the <br />technical analysis and documentation, the FTA made the formal determination that the EA was a complete, <br />objective, and technically sufficient analysis of the potential impacts on the human, economic, and social <br />environment. <br /> <br />The project has continued to generate an impressive amount of interest and response from the public, and <br />LTD feels it is important for the City Council to review this input. We are providing all comments received in <br /> <br /> <br />The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and LTD are addressing in detail all public input related to the <br /> <br />content of the EA as part of thefederal process. The federal process requires a 30-day review <br />period after the EA is complete; however, due to the level of local interest in the project, LTD requested and <br />was granted a 45-day review period (July 16 - August 29, 2012). It is expected that the FTA will find that all <br />significant impacts have been avoided or can be mitigated, and it will issue a formal Finding of No <br />Significant Impact, obligating LTD and the project to all required mitigation. <br /> <br />If the project is reaffirmed by the Eugene City Council and the LTD Board of Directors, LTD will begin the <br />preliminary design and engineering process. This process is expected to occur during the next 18-24 <br />months, with construction beginning in 2015. The first step of the preliminary design process will be working <br />with property owners along the corridor to develop acceptable project refinements, consistent with all <br />mitigation, to best meet the interests of property owners, businesses, and the project. The new EmX service <br />could open to the public by early 2017. <br /> <br />Thank you for your continued careful consideration of this important project for our community. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br />Ronald J. Kilcoyne <br />LTD General Manager <br /> <br />RK:JE:jms <br /> <br />Enclosures <br />