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SVM Project List SEPTA | |
| History Timeline Alternatives MIS/DEIS Bibliography | ||
1.1 INTRODUCTION1.1.1. MIS/DEIS PROCESSBerks Area Reading Transportation Authority (BARTA) and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), as grantees of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), are undertaking this Major Investment Study (MIS) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to consider the alternative means to provide a major transportation investment in the corridor between Reading and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and to consider and address the probable impacts of this investment. This MIS/DEIS follows the completion of the Schuylkill Valley Metro Feasibility Study Final Report (1998) prepared by BARTA and SEPTA. An MIS and DEIS are two initial steps required as part of FTA's transportation planning process to undertake a major transportation investment that seeks federal funding. The Schuylkill Valley Metro (SVM) project combines the MIS and DEIS processes and documents the purpose of the project, alternatives considered, transportation and environmental impacts, operating and capital costs, financial feasibility and public involvement process. The MIS focuses on evaluating the alternatives against the goals and objectives of the study to determine the best transportation solution for the study corridor. The DEIS provides a means for the public and reviewing agencies to understand the social, cultural and environmental implications of the proposed project. The DEIS describes the affected natural and human-made environment and identifies impacts caused by the proposed project along with potential mitigation measures. The purpose of this combined effort is to identify the transportation alternative that best meets the needs of the SVM corridor. This alternative is identified as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). Once identified, the LPA must be approved by the corridor's two regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), (The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and the Berks County Planning Commission (BCPC), and included in their Transportation Improvement Programs (TIP) and Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTP). This MIS/DEIS document has been reviewed by the FTA, published and advertised. Public hearings have been scheduled to officially record public comments. The next steps in the transportation planning process include preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Preliminary Engineering (PE) which includes additional environmental studies sufficient for completion of the FEIS. The FEIS involves additional public involvement, interagency coordination, and engineering and environmental analyses as necessary to consider the appropriateness of refinements to the LPA and the incorporation of mitigation measures and environmental enhancements in response to comments received on the DEIS. PE includes further engineering of the alignment, systems, stations, facilities and vehicles as required to support completion of the FEIS and provides a foundation for Final Design. The completed FEIS is then reviewed and approved by FTA and advertised for public consumption. The final step in the environmental process is the issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD) by FTA, which presents the basis for the decision, summarizes any mitigation measures, environmental enhancements and section 4(f) approvals for the LPA. The issuance of the ROD indicates that the project is eligible to move into Final Design. This document presents the findings and conclusions of the MIS and DEIS in three volumes: Volume I being the main document, contains text, tables, and selected figures; Volume II (11" X 17") contains exhibits (maps, figures, and large tables) referenced in Volume I, and Volume III (11" X 17") contains the conceptual plan drawings for the LPA. Whenever there is reference to an Exhibit within the text of Volume I, it can be found in Volume II. This MIS/DEIS reflects considerable condensing of technical information and analyses presented in various SVM Technical Reports and supporting data. The Technical Reports are listed in Appendix C. Certain levels of additional environmental documentation and analysis, exceeding the levels completed for this DEIS, will be necessary to meet regulatory agency requirements for precise quantification of certain impacts and development of site-specific impact avoidance and/or mitigation and for certain permits required prior to commencement of construction. With concurrence of state and federal environmental agencies, the additional levels of analysis were deferred until the project reaches the preliminary engineering stage. Environmental studies to be performed after the publication of this MIS/DEIS are identified in individual subsections of Chapter 5 and summarized in Section 5.20. The additional information will be provided in the FEIS and included in permit applications as appropriate. Similarly, the engineering of the alignment, systems, stations, facilities, and vehicles developed for this MIS/DEIS is conceptual only. Considerable design refinement will be undertaken during PE and Final Design to support the permit applications, property acquisitions and easements process, and for local government land development approvals. 1.1.2. BACKGROUNDThe SVM transportation project proposed for the Schuylkill Valley corridor extends approximately 62 miles between Reading and Philadelphia as illustrated in Figure 1.1-1 Schuylkill Valley Metro Study Corridor [PDF]. The corridor once consisted of a widely-spaced string of cities and boroughs connected by the Schuylkill River, roads, a system of canals, and railroads and surrounded by rural, largely agricultural land. Philadelphia and Reading developed as regional centers of commerce and industry (and in Philadelphia's case as a national center.) The boroughs developed as local centers. The cities and boroughs developed in ways that allowed their residents to either walk to work or, in Reading and Philadelphia, use a form of transit - streetcars, buses, subways, or commuter rail - to travel to work, shop, and play. Since the 1950's the corridor has been transformed as many of its residents, manufacturers and commercial interests have moved away from the densely populated cities and boroughs into residential subdivisions and new industrial and commercial developments on land that was once farmed or left as open space. Public investment in new highways helped spur this transformation. Now these highways - the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) and US Route 422 Pottstown Expressway - and other arterial roads are at or over capacity. Traffic congestion, automobile-related air pollution, and storm water runoff and flooding continue to grow as new development in the corridor continues to sprawl over former farmland and open space to the detriment of the older communities, the corridor, and the region as a whole. In the older communities population and jobs have decreased, the tax base and services have eroded, the infrastructure is underutilized, and social and economic ills have grown. During the 50 years and more of this transformation, new transit services in the corridor have been limited to bus service subject to the same congestion as automobile traffic. There has been no investment in new commuter rail or similar fixed guideway systems to either facilitate commuting among the older, established centers or to link the older centers with the new suburban centers of development. The SVM project was conceived as a means to redirect the course of regional development. The Schuylkill Valley Metro Feasibility Study Final Report (1998) prepared by BARTA and SEPTA concluded the following:
Further, although not specifically stated in the Feasibility Study, it was understood that use of existing railroad rights-of-way would be considerably less costly and would likely result in fewer social, economic, and environmental impacts than the creation of an entirely new right-of-way. Construction of a new transit system between Philadelphia and Reading was seen as a mechanism to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. The new transit system would be a catalyst for enhancing the corridor's cities and boroughs - including Philadelphia, Norristown, Phoenixville, Pottstown, and Reading - as desirable places to live, work and do business and as one of several tools to rein in sprawl. Further, if integrated into the region's existing transit systems, it would contribute to improving the productivity of transit services throughout the region. Based on the conclusions of the Feasibility Study, BARTA and SEPTA initiated the MIS/DEIS phase of a multi-phase process to develop, evaluate, and implement appropriate and effective transportation investments in the Schuylkill Valley Corridor. These investments would include the following elements:
1.1.3. RELATED STUDIES AND ONGOING TRANSPORTATION PROJECTSSeveral transportation projects currently underway in the SVM corridor include investments in both highway and transit facilities. As required by the statewide transportation planning process, transportation projects must be listed and adopted within the required TIP for a particular MPO. The SVM corridor encompasses portions of the DVRPC and BCPC planning areas. This study was based on the DVRPC TIP, adopted on January 21, 1999 for a four-year period from 1999 to 2002 and the BCPC TIP adopted on February 4, 1999 for the same four-year period. These TIPs provide a listing of the transportation projects scheduled over the next four years. A complete listing and description of transportation projects are available within the referenced TIPs. Major projects within the study corridor are illustrated in Figure 1.1-2 Current and Future Highway Network [PDF not available] and include:
These and other projects are designed to reduce congestion in the study corridor and improve the quality of transportation in the region.
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