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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A: LTD-EmX Presentation ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: West Eugene EmX Extension Update Meeting Date: May 13, 2009 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Public Works Staff Contact: Rob Inerfeld www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5343 ISSUE STATEMENT At this council work session, Lane Transit District (LTD) staff will provide an update on the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) including elements of the National Environmental Policy Act process, the relation of the EmX to City and regional goals, progress to-date, and the process from this point forward. BACKGROUND th The council voted on October 9, 2006, to identify West 11 Avenue as the City’s priority for the next EmX corridor study. At its October 18, 2006, meeting, the LTD Board of Directors endorsed the Eugene City Council action. Based on this direction, staff began work on planning for the West Eugene EmX Extension. LTD staff last provided an update to the council on the WEEE process at the September 8, 2008, City Council Work Session. The attached memo from LTD staff provides an update on the WEEE process to-date and discusses connections between the WEEE process and the West Eugene Collaborative process and report, and describes the relationship between the build-out of the EmX system and regional and community goals. RELATED CITY POLICIES From Eugene-Springfield Transportation System Plan (TransPlan): TSI Transit Policy #2: Bus Rapid Transit Establish a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system composed of frequent, fast transit service along major corridors and neighborhood feeder service that connects with the corridor service and with activity centers, if the system is shown to increase transit mode split along BRT corridors, if local governments demonstrate support, and if financing for the system is feasible. From Adopted Growth Management Policies: Growth Management Policy 11 Increase the use of alternative modes of transportation by improving the capacity, design, safety, and convenience of the transit, bicycle, and pedestrian transportation systems. COUNCIL OPTIONS This is an informational meeting only; therefore there are no options for the council to consider. Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090513\S090513A.doc CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION None. SUGGESTED MOTION None. ATTACHMENTS A. Cover Memo from LTD Staff B. Memo from LTD staff – Overview of Federal Project Development Process C. Process to Locally Preferred Alternative D. BRT System Map E.Implementation of Key BRT Components on LTD’s EmX System F.Franklin EmX Average Weekday Boardings G.Cleveland Newspaper Article on BRT and Community Development FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Rob Inerfeld Telephone: 682-5343 Staff E-Mail: rob.inerfeld@ci.eugene.or.us Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090513\S090513A.doc Attachment A May 13, 2009 MEMORANDUM To: Eugene City Council From: Tom Schwetz, LTD Director of Planning and Development Subject: WEST EUGENE EMX EXTENSION (WEEE) PROJECT UPDATE Introduction The last update on the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) Project was provided to the Eugene City Council at its September 8, 2008, work session. That briefing focused on elements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process being conducted for the project, the process for deciding on the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), and public outreach conducted to date for the project. The environmental process currently is transitioning from a focus on the development of alternatives to analysis of those alternatives. This extensive analysis forms the basis for the draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and ultimately supports the selection of the LPA by the Eugene City Council, the LTD Board of Directors, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee. As this process moves toward a decision on the LPA, it is important to review the broader objectives of EmX in the region’s growth and development and the role EmX can play in addressing larger issues of concern to the community (climate change, peak oil, economic development, congestion). This Memorandum provides an overview of these topics and an update on the status and schedule for the project. Project Status and Schedule Update Work Accomplished to Date The WEEE Project has completed the Scoping phase, is nearing completion of the definition of alternatives, and is initiating the preparation of the DEIS. A detailed overview of the federal project development process is provided as Attachment B. Within the Scoping phase, which was initiated in September 2007, the project: 1) identified its Cooperating and Participating Agencies; 2) drafted and finalized its Purpose and Need Statement; 3) identified the range of reasonable alternatives that meets the Purpose and Need Statement; and 4) documented the methods of analysis to be used to prepare the DEIS. The alternatives include the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Alternative, which has several alignment and terminus alternatives and options, and the No-Build Alternative. LTD conducted an extensive community design dialogue process to work with the public, agencies, and jurisdictions to refine the conceptual designs of the various alignment alternatives and options. This process included several community work sessions during the summer of 2008; a “Report Back” open house in October 2008; an open house in January 2009 to present and discuss additional options and alignments; numerous design and traffic review meetings with LTD, the City of Eugene, Oregon Department of Transportation, and staff of other agencies; and monthly presentations to the project corridor committee. The conceptual design of the proposed alternative BRT alignments and stations will be documented in the Detailed Definition of Alternatives Report and Conceptual Engineering Plan Set, which will form the basis of the project’s environmental analysis. Throughout the design refinement process, LTD has remained in consult with City and LCOG staff focused on the Amazon Alignment, endeavoring to meet both the BRT’s operational and ridership objectives while contributing to the Amazon’s enhancement. Most recently, LTD and FTA removed the proposed BRT alignment adjacent to the Amazon west of Buck Street from further consideration in the project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The design change to the Amazon Alignment is being made because it appears to be highly likely that the th proposed extension of West 13 and the potential associated land use changes will not occur within the timeline of the WEEE’s Project Development process. As such, the current roadway network and land uses (generally industrial) are most likely to be in place over the near to mid- term. It is reasonable to conclude that the benefits of serving those land uses with EmX would not warrant the costs and potential environmental impacts that would be associated with an Amazon Alignment west of Buck Street. th Instead, the Amazon Alignment would connect with the West 11 Avenue Alignment Alternative, th generally at Seneca Street (as does the West 7 Place Alignment Alternative). The details of the design for that connection are still being developed, with several options being evaluated for a connection at a location somewhere between Conger and Seneca streets. Because the EmX stations for this alignment would be at the cross streets, there may be opportunities for jointly funding restoration and bridge widening enhancements currently being studied by the City in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The intent is to explore options that would minimize impacts to the environment and enhance or support the goals presented in the City’s Metro Waterways Study. The design objectives of this alignment include: • Preserve the multi-use path • Separate the multi-use path from EmX (opposite sides of the creek) where possible • Incorporate Metro Waterways goals and objectives for the Amazon Channel • Contribute to the enhancement of the channel Schedule Update and Process Remaining Attachment C provides a graphic showing the schedule and process from this point to the selection of the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). Under the current schedule, the greater part of the alternatives analysis and the preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) would commence in May and June of this year, respectively; a DEIS document would be ready for public review in January 2010; and decision-making on the LPA would take place in May and June of 2010. LTD, its consultant team, and various resource agencies are now preparing to study and evaluate the alternatives and their impacts, costs and benefits. A key effort of LTD and LCOG has been the refinement of the LCOG travel demand forecasting model to include EmX as a mode of travel Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update May 13, 2009 Page 2 distinct from fixed-route buses. That model is now under review by FTA, and when that review is complete, it will be used to determine the ridership and travel time benefits of the various alternatives and options under study – both for the NEPA and Small/New Starts processes. Following publication of the DEIS (estimated January 2010), there will be a 60-day comment period. The Eugene City Council, the LTD Board of Directors, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) will then deliberate over which alternative should be chosen as the LPA by deciding the following in the order listed: 1) Should a No Build Alternative or a BRT alternative be chosen? 2) If the LPA is the BRT Alternative, should the alignment be: ththth a) On West 6/7, or West 13 between Eugene Station and Garfield Street; thth b) On West 7 Place, on West 11 Avenue; or c) Adjacent to the Amazon Channel between Garfield and Seneca streets. th 3) Should the project end on or near West 11 Avenue at Seneca Street or Commerce Street; or extend the full-length on Willow Creek Road, Terry Street, or Cone Boulevard? The Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) process is complete with the concurrence by the Federal Transit Agency and Cooperating Agencies with the coordinated decision of the LTD Board, the Eugene City Council, and the MPC. With the LPA selected, the process moves to a stage of final environmental documentation, including responses to the public and agency comments on the DEIS and commitments to mitigate impacts. Public Process LTD will continue to implement a proactive public process while the DEIS is being prepared, issuing newsletters, presenting to neighborhood and interest groups, meeting with adjacent home and business owners, etc. LTD will also be preparing the public for the publication of the DEIS and for the public comment period and hearing. West Eugene Collaborative Report During this time period, the West Eugene Collaborative (WEC) has completed its work and generated a report that the Council received on April 27. In addition to many other smaller and shorter term action suggested in the WEC report, the Collaborative reached consensus on a th proposal to develop a multiway boulevard along West 11,starting at Garfield Street. This proposal includes a bus rapid transit lane in both directions of the through lane section of the boulevard. The WEC’s effort has overlapped LTD’s West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) project over the duration of the WEC process. During that time, LTD staff provided updates, and the WEC incorporated this information into its discussions. At one point, the WEC provided LTD with formal input on the range of alternatives for the project. While the two processes coincided, there are some important differences in their scopes. The WEC process focused on a long-term, vision-level effort, identifying a set of strategies that could Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update May 13, 2009 Page 3 be implemented over time (short, medium, and long-term strategies were identified) to achieve that vision. That effort did not have the resources (nor did the group feel it was particularly appropriate) to conduct an analysis of the group’s vision. The environmental process being conducted for the WEEE project is focused on developing extensive information to make an investment decision to be implemented within the next four to five years. It is important to note that the two efforts are consistent. As shown in Figure 1 below, the WEC proposal envisions that the bus rapid transit lanes would be located on the edge of the through th lanes, one transit lane in each direction. Should the LPA be on West 11 Avenue beginning at Garfield, the EmX lanes would be in the same position as the WEC proposal. If the LPA is along the Amazon to Buck Street, the distance between the EmX stations at cross streets along thth the Amazon and West 11 would only range from 200-600 feet – at most just over 1/10 of a th mile. Under this scenario, the multiway boulevard on West 11 would require 24 fewer feet of right-of-way, and EmX service would still provide good access to commercial activity along West th 11. thth If the LPA takes EmX out along West 6 Avenue to West 7 Place and then to Seneca Street, th EmX service would only intersect the multiway boulevard at the intersection of West 11 and Seneca. th Figure 1 – WEC Proposal for Multiway Boulevard on West 11 Showing Two Rapid Transit Lanes The Role of EmX in Transforming the Region’s Growth and Development The 2001 adoption of the TransPlan by the cities of Eugene and Springfield, Lane County, LTD, and the LCOG Board identified bus rapid transit (BRT) as the region’s choice for high capacity transit. This action on BRT was the culmination of a regional conversation about the role of transit in the future growth and development of the region. Concern was expressed that transit needed to become more competitive with the automobile if it were to provide a relevant contribution to the region’s future mobility. The resulting plan identified a 61-mile system of BRT envisioned to provide high quality transit service connecting mixed-use centers throughout the region (Attachment D). The primary objectives for the BRT strategy were twofold: to significantly increase transit ridership by Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update May 13, 2009 Page 4 attracting ‘choice riders’ (those that typically have an auto, but choose to take BRT); and to provide an investment in transit that could, through the permanence of its exclusive right-of-way and other features, attract desired land use development. Accomplishing these objectives requires that the BRT system incorporate several elements. The elements of a fully-featured BRT system are outlined in Attachment E. Each of these elements contributes to improving the speed and reliability of EmX, which in turn, makes EmX more attractive to a broader market of ridership. This ridership increase, in turn, contributes to making property along an EmX line more attractive to the development of desired land use patterns (mixed-use, pedestrian friendly). One of the more important elements of BRT incorporated into LTD’s implementation of EmX is the use of exclusive right-of-way (ROW). The Franklin Boulevard EmX line currently has approximately 60 percent of its length in exclusive ROW, and the Gateway EmX line will have approximately 70 percent of its length in exclusive ROW. This element is important for two reasons: 1) for riders using EmX, it produces far more reliable travel times than regular service running in mixed traffic along congested corridors; and 2) for LTD operations, exclusive ROW allows LTD to provide higher quality, more efficient service along congested corridors by keeping bus drivers out of congestion for significant segments of the corridor. The ridership increases have been borne out by the ridership trends of the Franklin Boulevard EmX (Green Line) (Attachment F), which show strong and continuous growth since the service opened in January 2007. Currently the ridership on Franklin Boulevard EmX is more than double that of the Route 11 that it replaced (more than 6,000 rides per day compared to approximately 2,800 for the Router 11). In addition, the comprehensive on-board survey conducted by LTD in October 2007 indicates that 24 percent of the EmX riders are new to using transit. There is an additional important dimension to the implementation of EmX that makes it a strong community building tool for the region: the way in which the system is actually designed and constructed. Through incorporation of a number of features into the design and construction of its infrastructure, LTD has contributed significantly to transforming the area directly surrounding its stations, facilities, and the EmX line itself. Incorporation of a bioswale into the design of the Springfield Station, community art into the design of the EmX stations, and the clock tower at the Eugene Station are examples of design features. One indication of the success of this community building is through the various awards LTD and its design consultants have received over the years. Specific to EmX are the following: • American Council of Engineering Companies – Oregon – 2008 Grand Award for Engineering Excellence • Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (international competition) – 2008 Sustainable Transport Award Honorable Mention • Southwestern Oregon Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture st – 2007 People’s Choice Award 1 Place Landscape Architecture • The Southwestern Oregon Chapter of the American Institute of Architects - 2007 People’s Choice Award 3rd Place Commercial Architecture Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update May 13, 2009 Page 5 The potential for EmX to leverage adjacent transit-oriented development is expected to increase as more of the system is implemented. This is because it is the regional nature of the EmX system that contributes most to attracting appropriate development. With the WEEE project, this regional aspect of the service would first be realized. The service would offer a one-seat ride with 10-minute frequency between West Eugene and the Gateway area in Springfield; through downtown Eugene, by the University of Oregon and PeaceHealth; and into downtown Springfield. Attachment G provides an illustration of the transformative potential of BRT, describing what’s taken place along Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, where a BRT investment was recently opened for service. EmX Contributions to Addressing Key Community Issues Generally, transit has been seen as an effective tool across the country in addressing a number of broader objectives as follows: Ì®¿²­·¬Ý±²¬®·¾«¬»­¬±ß¼¼®»­­·²¹Õ»§Ý±³³«²·¬§×­­«»­ Ѿ¶»½¬·ª»Ì®¿²­·¬Ø»´°­Þ§æ Reducing the number of autos using congested Reducing the impacts of climate change corridors Increasing a region’s attractiveness for Providing high frequency, easy to use service like economic development EmX running in exclusive right-of-way Providing cost-effective transportation options for Reducing the effects of peak oil households and the region Providing high frequency, easy to use service like EmX running in exclusive right-of-way along Reducing corridor-level congestion congested corridors Creating active communities Promoting walking and biking to transit Coordinating with bike and pedestrian systems to Developing sustainable regional mobility provide effective options for regional travel With its demonstrated ability to attract much higher levels of ridership than regular bus service (115 rides per hour compared to 58 rides per hour for the system as a whole), and its potential to attract desirable development, EmX has the ability to contribute more significantly to each of these efforts. From Here: Coordinating the Decision on the Locally Preferred Alternative th As identified in the original discussion leading to its selection in late 2006, West 11 Avenue remains a very good candidate for EmX service. It currently is a major transit corridor with a thth high level of ridership and West 11 is a logical westerly extension of Franklin EmX. West 11 Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update May 13, 2009 Page 6 has a relatively high level of population and employment to support EmX and serves a rapidly developing part of the community. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will provide a solid technical basis for the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) decision to be made jointly by the Eugene City Council, the LTD Board of Directors, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee. Continuing outreach to the public will provide opportunities for education and input to the process, which will further enhance the decision-making process. To fully understand the tradeoffs and opportunities among the range of alternatives, it will be important for the Council to determine what additional information and process it may need to reach an LPA decision. As described above, the WEEE project provides the region with the opportunity to create a truly regional high quality, high capacity transit system, connecting key parts of the region with EmX. A close working partnership between the City and LTD will be needed to realize the full transformative value of an EmX investment. ENCLOSURES: Attachment B: Detailed Overview of Federal Project Development Process Attachment C: West Eugene EmX Extension Process to Locally Preferred Alternative Attachment D: Bus Rapid Transit System Map from 2007 Regional Transportation Plan Attachment E: Elements of BRT Attachment F: Latest EmX Ridership Trends Attachment G: Article on Cleveland BRT and Community Development Q:\Reference\Board Packet\2009\05\WEEE presentation to ECC 5-13-09\Eugene_Council_memo_05-13- 09__Skiles_tbs_final - min MWB picture.doc Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update May 13, 2009 Page 7 Attachment B May 13, 2009 MEMORANDUM To: Eugene City Council From: Tom Schwetz, LTD Director of Planning and Development Subject: West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) Project – Overview of Federal Project Development Process This memorandum provides an overview of the process that is used to adopt and implement a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) within the Federal Project Development process and a summary of the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) Project’s current status within that process. This memorandum also summarizes the proposed WEEE Project’s consistency with the City’s goals and objectives and closes with a summary of the project’s next steps. A. Overview of the Project Development Process The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Project Development process for high capacity transit projects is a merging of numerous separate processes. Key among these processes are: 1) Alternatives Analysis; 2) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 6002 (the United States Department of Transportation’s implementation of NEPA); and 3) New Starts/Small Starts. Other more specific processes that are usually or sometimes included in the Project Development process include those that address: a) historic resources; b) public parks and recreation areas, and wildlife and waterfowl refuges; c) wetlands; d) threatened and endangered species; e) environmental justice; and many others. There are also many state, regional, and local regulations that are addressed, depending on the location of the project. This summary focuses on the three key Federal processes. Under Alternatives Analysis: 1. FTA requires a “rigorous analysis” of a wide range of alternatives that can address the identified needs in the proposed corridor; those alternatives are developed at a “conceptual” level. 2. FTA seeks to understand the tradeoffs between the alternatives; in particular the costs, adverse impacts, and the benefits of the alternatives. 3. The local project sponsor uses the Alternatives Analysis to select a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) to propose to FTA for approval and funding. For the WEEE project, the LPA will be selected by agreement among the LTD Board of Directors, the Eugene City Council, and the Metropolitan Polity Committee (MPC). 4. FTA uses the NEPA and Small Starts/New Starts process to determine if the proposed LPA is eligible for and worthy of Federal funding (in concert with Congress). Under NEPA and Section 6002: 1. During the Scoping phase, the Federal and local lead agencies on the project, in consultation with the public and Participating Agencies: 1) develop a Purpose and Need Statement that the proposed project would address; 2) identify the full range of reasonable alternatives that meet the Purpose and Need Statement; and 3) identify the scope of the environmental analysis to be performed (i.e., the range of disciplines to be analyzed and documented. 2. The analysis of the benefits, costs, and impacts of the alternatives is reported in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and its supporting documentation. 3. After the DEIS is published, the project sponsors provide a 45- to 60-day public and agency review period, including one or more public hearings that are held no earlier than 15 days after the publication of the DEIS. 4. Once the DEIS comment process is complete and a LPA is selected, the Final EIS (FEIS), which includes commitments to mitigation and responses to public and agency comments on the DEIS, is prepared for the No-Build Alternative and the LPA. The FEIS is based on preliminary engineering. 6. Once the FEIS is published and circulated to the public and agencies, FTA can issue a Record of Decision that documents the project’s compliance with NEPA and allows the Federal government to commit funding to the project. Under the Small Starts/New Starts Process: 1. FTA determines whether or not to allow the project to advance through major milestones in the Project Development process, including entry into Project Development (Preliminary Engineering and Final Design) and execution of a Project Construction Grant Agreement. 2. FTA bases that determination primarily on: 1) cost effectiveness; 2) local land use commitments; and 3) local financial commitments and capacities. 3. FTA rates projects in its annual report to Congress: Low, Medium, High. 4. Through FTA, the Administration decides which projects to include in its annual proposed budget for discretionary Section 5309 capital funds. B. Project Status In summary, the WEEE Project has completed the Scoping phase, is nearing completion of the definition of alternatives, and is initiating the preparation of the DEIS. Scoping Within Scoping, which was initiated in September 2007, the project: 1) identified its Cooperating and Participating Agencies; 2) drafted and finalized its Purpose and Need Statement; 3) identified the range of reasonable alternatives that meets the Purpose and Need Statement; and 4) documented the methods of analysis to be used to prepare the DEIS. The alternatives include the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Alternative and the No-Build Alternative, which has several alignment and terminus alternatives and options. Design Refinement LTD conducted an extensive and protracted community design dialogue process to work with the public, agencies, and jurisdictions to refine the conceptual designs of the various alignment alternatives and options. This process included: several community work sessions in the summer of 2008; a “Report Back” open house in October 2008; an open house in January 2009 to present and discuss additional options and alignments; numerous design and traffic review meetings with Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subj: West Eugene EmX Extension Project – Overview of Federal Project Development Process May 13, 2009 Page 2 LTD, City, Oregon Department of Transportation, and staff of other agencies; and monthly presentations to the project corridor committee. The conceptual design of the proposed alternative BRT alignments and stations will be documented in the Detailed Definition of Alternatives Report and Conceptual Engineering Plan Set, which will form the basis of the project’s environmental analysis. Throughout the design refinement process, LTD has remained in consult with City and LCOG staff focused on the Amazon Alignment, endeavoring to meet both the BRT’s operational and ridership objectives while contributing to the Amazon’s improvement. Most recently, LTD and FTA removed the proposed BRT alignment adjacent to the Amazon west of Buck Street from further consideration in the project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The design change to the Amazon Alignment is being made because it appears to be highly likely that the th proposed extension of West 13, and the potential associated land use changes, will not occur within the timeline of the WEEE’s Project Development process. As such, the current roadway network and land uses (generally industrial) are most likely to be in place over the near to mid- term, and it is reasonable to conclude that the benefits of serving those land uses with EmX would not warrant the costs and potential environmental impacts that would be associated with an Amazon Alignment west of Buck Street. Instead, the Amazon Alignment would connect with the W 11th Avenue Alignment Alternative, generally at Seneca Street (as does the W 7th Place Alignment Alternative). The details of the design for that connection are still being developed, with several options being evaluated for a connection at a location somewhere generally between Conger and Seneca Streets. Because the EmX stations for this alignment would be at the cross streets, there may be opportunities for jointly funding restoration and bridge-widening enhancements currently being studied by the City in cooperation with the United States Army Corp of Engineers. The intent is to explore options that would minimize impacts to the environment and enhance or support the goals presented in the City’s Metro Waterways Study. The design objectives of this alignment include: • Preserve the multi-use path • Where possible, separate the multi-use path from EmX (opposite sides of the creek) • Incorporate Metro Waterways goals and objectives for the Amazon Channel • Contribute to the enhancement of the channel Environmental Analysis LTD, its consultant team, and various resource agencies are now preparing to study and evaluate the alternatives and their impacts, costs, and benefits. A key effort of LTD and LCOG has been the refinement of the LCOG travel demand forecasting model to include EmX as a mode of travel distinct from fixed-route buses. That model is now under review by FTA, and when that review is complete, it will be used to determine the ridership and travel time benefits of the various alternatives and options under study – both for the NEPA and Small Starts/New Starts processes. Following publication of the DEIS (estimated January 2010), there will be a 60-day comment period. The Eugene City Council, the LTD Board of Directions, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee will then deliberate as to which alternative should be chosen as the LPA: Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subj: West Eugene EmX Extension Project – Overview of Federal Project Development Process May 13, 2009 Page 3 1) A No Build Alternative or a BRT alternative? 2) If the LPA is the BRT Alternative, should the alignment be: ththth a) On West 6/7, or West 13 between Eugene Station and Garfield Street; thth b) On West 7 Place, on West 11 Avenue; or c) Adjacent to the Amazon Channel between Garfield and Seneca streets. th 3) Should the project end on or near West 11 Avenue at Seneca Street or Commerce Street; or extend the full-length on Willow Creek Road, Terry Street, or Cone Boulevard? Public Process LTD will continue to implement a proactive public process while the DEIS is being prepared, including issuing newsletters, presenting to neighborhood and interest groups, meeting with adjacent home and business owners, etc. LTD will also be preparing the public for the publication of the DEIS and for the public comment period and hearing. C. LPA Process After the close of the public comment period, LTD will document, summarize, and distribute public and agency comments. LTD staff will then prepare and distribute a proposed LPA that will be presented to the WEEE Corridor Committee for advice and to the WEEE Steering Committee for a recommendation. Based upon the DEIS, the public comment received, and the committee advice and recommendation, the LTD Board of Directors, the Eugene City Council, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee will be asked to adopt an LPA. Each of the three jurisdictions will use its own processes to adopt the LPA, and some iterations may be required to reach agreement between the three jurisdictions. The adopted LPA will be documented in the WEEE Project LPA Report. D. Consistency with City Goals Integrated in the LPA decision process and the final alternative selection is LTD’s commitment to the City’s sustainability, economic development, growth management, and transparency goals. The City of Eugene provides the balanced view of both short-term and long-term planning goals. Faced with the challenges of an uncertain economy and the critical need for environmental protection, the City’s direction is critical to the final WEEE alternative decision. LTD believes that the WEEE project can assist the City in achieving its stated economic goals to revive downtown, prevent business closures, encourage desired economic development, increase accessibility by alternative modes, and attract diverse investments. LTD also believes that it has a major role in addressing climate change issues. Already spurred to action by the imminent importance of global warming and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, LTD advocates for alternative modes and long-range transportation and land use planning that will allow for sustainable transportation options. To accomplish these and other goals of the City, LTD is working closely with City staff, discussing key issues in meetings with City councilors, and seeking to obtain local support from neighborhoods and community groups. The overarching goal is to provide for a Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subj: West Eugene EmX Extension Project – Overview of Federal Project Development Process May 13, 2009 Page 4 transparent process for the City and LTD that will encourage public involvement, project awareness, and project designs that will avoid and minimize environmental impacts. E. Next Steps The process leading from design refinement of the alternatives to selection of the LPA is as follows: 1. Complete the Detailed Definition of Alternatives Report and Conceptual Engineering Plan Set, including the Amazon Alignment. 2. Finalize integration of EmX as a mode within the LCOG travel demand forecasting model through coordination with FTA. 3. Initiate, complete, and document the assessment of adverse and beneficial environmental impacts of the project alternatives, including publication of the DEIS. 4. Continue coordination with the project’s Cooperating and Participating Agencies. 5. Continue the project’s public outreach program. 6. Make preparations for the DEIS comment period and hearing and selection of the LPA. 7. Once an LPA is selected, prepare a Small Starts submittal and request to advance into Project Development and submit to FTA. Q:\Reference\Board Packet\2009\05\WEEE presentation to ECC 5-13-09\Attachment A - Detailed Overview of Federal Project Development process ECC 05-13-09.doc Memorandum to Eugene City Council Subj: West Eugene EmX Extension Project – Overview of Federal Project Development Process May 13, 2009 Page 5 ATTACHMENT G Cleveland Newspaper Article on BRT and Community Development ARTS Latest arts news and listings from The Plain Dealer Cleveland Arts News in Northeast Ohio Euclid Corridor project helps drive $4 billion in Cleveland development by Steven Litt / Plain Dealer Architecture Critic Sunday February 10, 2008, NEWS ANALYSIS Amid all the bad news about Cleveland's economy, one big, positive number is sure to impress all but the most hardened cynics: $4.3 billion. That's how much fresh investment -- conservatively speaking -- is being poured into the four-mile-long strip of land flanking Euclid Avenue, the city's Main Street, between Public Square and The spending, which encompasses everything from museums and hospitals to housing and University Circle. educational institutions, includes projects completed since 2000, those now under way and those scheduled for completion within five or six years. Private developers with proven records as doers, not speculators, are gearing up to start projects worth more than $1 billion along the corridor in the next five years or so. They include Douglas Price III, Nathan Zaremba, Ari and Richard Maron, and Gordon Priemer. The amounts they and nonprofit institutions are investing will easily dwarf the money spent by government and partners in the 1990s on sports stadiums and the Rock and Roll Hall of One big reason for the energy is the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's $200 Fame and Museum. million Euclid Corridor project, which is reshaping Euclid Avenue around a bus rapid transit line. Pundits have long derided the project, funded primarily by federal money, as a boondoggle. Media coverage has focused primarily on businesses that failed during construction, along with the hassle of negotiating a sea of orange traffic cones. The mortgage-foreclosure crisis, which has left as many as 12,000 homes vacant in Cleveland But the developers say they see what's neighborhoods, has also obscured the impending rebirth of Euclid Avenue. coming. With the RTA project due for a ribbon-cutting in October, they're rushing to renovate empty buildings and buy vacant lots. "I'm a living example of it," says developer Dick Pace, who has spent $7 million over the past two years to turn a 1910 auto showroom at East 71st Street and Euclid Avenue into labs and offices for pigment scientists, biomedical researchers and startup entrepreneurs. "Before Euclid Corridor, I didn't feel it was a good investment," he said. Now his project is so successful, he said, he's looking for other buildings along the street to buy and rehab. Pace and others say that by connecting downtown and University Circle, the city's two big employment hubs, Euclid Corridor is adding value and potential to everything that lies between. Midtown getting an uptown feel Indeed, the price of an acre in the long-blighted Midtown area has doubled in the past five years from $200,000 to $400,000, said Jim Haviland, executive director of the nonprofit Midtown Inc., which has assembled 15 acres along Euclid Avenue for redevelopment. Aside from the anticipated boon for riders, the RTA project is changing the mood on the avenue by freshening a major piece of public infrastructure with new utilities, sidewalks, traffic "Developers gravitate toward places lanes and transit stops. where they see investment happening," said Lillian Kuri, director of special projects for the Cleveland Foundation. "There's no question [about Euclid Corridor], it's a catalyst." The robust growth of institutions on or near the avenue, such as the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Museum of Art, while not caused by the Euclid Corridor project, is likely to expand bus ridership and encourage further investment. Chris Stephens/The Plain DealerA completed section of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's $200 million Euclid Corridor project shows how the street -- once dilapidated -- has been significantly freshened. "It's huge," said Edward Hill, interim dean of the College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. "I look at Euclid Corridor and, to me, it's the single most exciting thing since the opening of Jacobs Field -- and it has much more economic meaning." If the momentum continues, blighted sections of Euclid Avenue could fill up with renovated apartments, retail shops, research labs, and medical and cultural facilities. Many projects are to break ground later this year or in 2009, just after Euclid Corridor is finished. "It's going to be a visual delight, and everybody's going to be shocked," said David Goldberg, co-chairman of Amtrust Bank and an investor along the avenue. "I won't be shocked, because I know what's happening now. The city is at a tipping point." This is still hard to imagine downtown, where many buildings along Euclid Avenue stand vacant. But East Fourth Street, where the Marons have invested $110 million, is humming with nightclubs, apartments and restaurants. Developers including Price and Eli Mann are hustling to join the Marons. Price wants to fill the vacant former William Taylor & Sons department store at 668 Euclid Ave. with apartments. He also wants to renovate and expand the empty Ameritrust bank complex at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue with apartments, a hotel and offices. Mann bought five mostly vacant buildings between East Ninth and East 12th streets, including the Cleveland Athletic Club building, and plans to spend $70 million to fill them with apartments and retail. Mann's architect, Jonathan Sandvick, wants to peel off glass and metal siding to reveal early 20th-century brick and terra cotta facades. Farther up the avenue, CSU has started spending $300 million on academic buildings, offices and housing. In University Circle, the Cleveland Museum of Art is nearly halfway through a six-year, $258 million expansion and renovation. The Cleveland Clinic is building $868 million worth of projects, including a giant new heart center. University Hospitals has $326 million worth of investments on tap. Even Midtown, where development has lagged, is showing signs of vitality. "I live it every day," said Scott Garson, senior vice president of NAI Daus, who is spending $10 million to turn the vacant Victory Building warehouse at Euclid Avenue and East 70th Street into 102 apartments. City is looking forward, not backward The new Euclid Avenue won't resemble sepia-toned photographs of the 19th century, when the mansions of Millionaire's Row lined the street. Instead, the avenue will be populated by students and medical workers, retirees and empty-nesters, who will be happy to ride the bus and save thousands of dollars a year by living without a second car. Developers want to provide buildings with cars for short-term rentals, or include RTA bus passes with leases. They say it will be far quicker to go from a downtown apartment to the Clinic on the bus than to drive and hunt for a parking space. Trends contributing to the rebirth on Euclid Avenue include the rising price of gas, which encourages transit use. Federal and state tax credits for historic preservation have tipped the balance in favor of renovating older buildings downtown. Growth in the medical sector is attracting research grants, venture capital and workers. A back-to-the-city movement among young professionals and retirees is also fueling growth. Leadership is another big factor. Top positions at major institutions along Euclid Avenue are held by advocates of New Urbanism, a type of city planning that caters to pedestrians and mass transit, rather than to the automobile. At CSU, President Michael Schwartz tore up a master plan he inherited from his predecessor, Claire Van Ummersen, which would have connected the university more firmly to the Inner Belt freeway and sealed its destiny as a commuter school. CSU's new master plan envisions dozens of new apartment buildings rising north and south of glassy new academic buildings along the north side of Euclid Avenue from East 17th Street to the Inner Belt. In Midtown, Haviland prepared for growth by leading the creation of a new zoning code, which outlaws stand-alone fast-food restaurants and requires new buildings to devote at least 60 percent of their ground-floor area to retail or other active uses. At the Cleveland Clinic, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Delos "Toby" Cosgrove recruited Berkeley, Calif., landscape architect Peter Walker to design parklike outdoor spaces to soften the Clinic's gigantic new buildings -- and to make Euclid Avenue more pedestrian-friendly. Chances for architectural achievement are high, with institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, the Cleveland Institute of Art and CSU hiring star designers for signature projects. Then and now, Euclid Avenue is special The impending revival has a certain dejà vu quality, said Christopher Leinberger, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Every city has a "favored quarter" with a spine that connects the downtown to the wealthiest close-in suburbs, he said. In Cleveland, it's Euclid Avenue, which is being reborn for the same reason it attracted wealth in the 19th century. He compared the avenue's renewed potential to that of great streets such as Massachusetts and Wisconsin avenues between Dupont Circle and Bethesda, Md., in the Washington area or Peachtree Street in Atlanta from Midtown to the Buckhead neighborhood. Bus rapid transit stops designed by Robert P. Madison International are a signature feature of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's soon-to-be- finished Silver Line on Euclid What's different Avenue. here is that the catalyst in Cleveland is bus rapid transit, a relatively new idea in the United States. On RTA's "Silver Line," as it's called, diesel-electric buses will move quickly along special lanes with coordinated lights at intersections. Euclid Corridor was one of 10 bus rapid transit demonstration projects launched by the Federal Transit Administration in 1999 in Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Miami, Las Vegas, Honolulu and other cities. It's also a vastly scaled-down version of what planners envisioned decades ago as the "Dual Hub," a light rail line connecting downtown to University Circle. Planning literature is packed with proof that streetcars and light rail inspire "transit-oriented development." So far, it seems, bus rapid transit is doing the same in Cleveland. The $4.3 billion figure cited above is based on news stories and interviews with developers. It doesn't include the $200 million Euclid Corridor project itself. Nor does it include projects such as developer Scott Wolstein's upcoming $400 million redevelopment on the east bank of the Flats, or Robert Stark's proposed $1.5 billion development in the Warehouse District. Nevertheless, the numbers are adding up quickly as momentum builds. "Every day, more projects are being planned," Goldberg said. "At a certain point, you reach a critical mass and it becomes self-sustaining." City planners and foundation officers hope the growth will spill into the surrounding Hough, Fairfax and Central neighborhoods north and south of the Euclid Avenue zone. Already, there are signs of that happening. The Finch Group of Boca Raton, Fla., and Heartland Developers of Cleveland are planning a large residential development in Hough called Upper Chester, north of the Cleveland Clinic and west of East 105th Street. The Clinic is collaborating with the nonprofit Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. on a $28 million biomedical research facility on Cedar Avenue. "The Euclid Corridor project was always about connecting those two centers [downtown and University Circle] through Hough and Fairfax in a way that creates spinoff," said Cleveland Planning Director Robert Brown. Despite the emerging benefits, the rebirth of Euclid Avenue may have only limited impact on the city as a whole, said James Rokakis, Cuyahoga County's treasurer. Too many neighborhoods are being hollowed out by defaults on subprime mortgages. The new growth along Euclid Avenue, while laudable, won't do much in the short run to boost school tax revenues, because much of the new development is tax-exempt, he said. Caveats aside, there's a striking energy among those involved with Euclid Avenue. In a city pummeled by news about crime, population loss and decay, it's a great, shining exception -- and one solid reason to be excited about Cleveland's future. See more in Architecture, News impact