MEASURE R PROJECT DELIVERY COMMITTEE May 19,201 1 SUBJECT: HIGH DESERT CORRIDOR UPDATE RECOMMENDATION

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1 Los Ands County On Gatway Plaza r1 Mtropolitan Transportation Authority Los Angls, CA mtro.nt MEASURE R PROJECT DELIVERY COMMITTEE May 19,201 1 SUBJECT: HIGH DESERT CORRIDOR UPDATE ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE RECOMMENDATION Rciv and fil this status rport on th Draft Environmntal Impact Statmnt/Environmntal Impact Rport (Draft EISIEIR) public Scoping procss and subsqunt community outrach fforts for th High Dsrt Corridor (Projct). ISSUE As a follow-up to th January Board Rport, w augmntd th lgally rquird outrach fforts bing conductd by th California Dpartmnt of Transportation (Caltrans) for th Projct and succssfully conductd two public official brifings and four public outrach mtings in April to provid updats on th Projct and prsnt findings from th Scoping mtings hld in Sptmbr (Attachmnt A). DISCUSSION In Sptmbr 2010, Caltrans in conjunction with Mtro initiatd th Scoping priod for th Projct to comply with th California Environmntal Quality Act (CEQA) and th National Environmntal Policy Act (NEPA). Th formal Scoping priod xtndd from Sptmbr 24,2010 through Novmbr 1,2010 and ovr 350 attnds wr prsnt at th on agncy and four public Scoping mtings. A varity of stakholdrs including rsidnts, businsss, public agncis, lctd officials and othr intrstd partis providd commnts via lttrs, mails, commnts cards and individual oral tstimonis. A total of ight altrnativs (Attachmnt B) hav bn proposd to satisfy th purpos and nd for this Projct. Each altrnativ will b valuatd, in part, basd upon th xpctd traffic dmands along th corridor. Th altrnativs bing studid ar:

2 No-Build Altrnativ Th No-Build altrnativ rprsnts futur travl conditions without th Projct bing implmntd. Transportation SvstmIDmand Managmnt (TSMITDM) Altrnativ This Altrnativ includs th oprational invstmnts, policis, and asily implmntd, low capital cost improvmnts aimd at improving mobility in th Projct ara. FrwavlExprsswav Altrnativ (Avnu P-8, and SR-18) This Altrnativ consists of a combination of a controlld-accss frway and an xprssway. Thr ar thr alignmnt variations (A, B and C) that will also b valuatd. FrwavlTollwav Altrnativ (Avnu P-8, and SR-18) This Altrnativ follows th sam rout as th FrwayIExprssway Altrnativ (with th thr alignmnt variations) and altrations mad in coordination with a Public Privat Partnrship analysis. Corridor lmprovmnts Altrnativ (Avnu P-8, SR-138 and SR-18) This Altrnativ follows th sam rout as th FrwayIExprssway Altrnativ btwn SR-14 and approximatly 126th St. East. Th altrnativ would thn curv south until it joins SR-138 xtnding to Variation A from th FrwayIExprssway Altrnativ is also includd. FrwavlExprsswav Altrnativ with High Spd Rail right-of-wav This Altrnativ follows th sam rout as th FrwayIExprssway Altrnativ (with th thr alignmnt variations) and includs additional right-of-way to accommodat a High Spd Rail (HSR) facility. If a HSR facility is provn to b viabl, its nginring and nvironmntal analysis would b fundd by othrs at a latr dat. FrwavlTollwav Altrnativ with High Spd Rail right-of-wav This Altrnativ is similar to th Frway~rollway Altrnativ (with th thr alignmnt variations) and includs considration of additional right-of-way for a High Spd Rail (HSR) facility and includs a Public Privat Partnrship analysis. If a HSR facility is provn to b viabl, its nginring and nvironmntal analysis would b fundd by othrs at a latr dat. Hvbrid Corridor Altrnativ This Altrnativ would consist of a combination of all or som of th prviously idntifid altrnativs, whos lmnts (TSMITDM, Frway, Exprssway, Tollway, and High Spd Rail) would b picd togthr to bst fit th nds of ach sction of th corridor. High Dsrt Corridor 2

3 In April 201 1, a total of 306 attnds wr prsnt at th two lctd official brifings hld in Palmdal and Victorvill, and four public outrach mtings hld in Lancastr and Lak Los Angls in Los Angls County and in Appl Vally and Adlanto in San Brnardino County. In addition, 28 mmbrs of th public joind th liv wbcast offrd on April 13th and continuous information from th mtings in Lancastr and Appl Vally was providd liv through Twittr. Th outrach mtings bgan with an opn hous whr attnds wr invitd to viw maps and xhibits, ask qustions of staff and listn to a prsntation about th Projct. Following th prsntation, th public was invitd to ask qustions and provid commnts. Issus raisd at th outrach mtings includd: Traffic impacts, accssibility and safty issus Hydrology, floodplains and watr quality Rig ht-of-way and Rig ht-of-way procss Utility impact Population growth in both Antlop and Victor Vallys NEXT STEPS W will continu to work with Caltrans to advanc th Projct's nvironmntal claranc. As th work progrsss on th Projct, w will provid updats to th Board on a priodic basis. ATTACHMENT A. Scoping Summary Rport Excutiv Summary B. High Dsrt Corridor Altrnativs Map Prpard by: Robrt Machuca, Transportation Planning Managr Ann Krman, Community Rlations Managr Brian Lin, Dirctor, Highway Program High Dsrt Corridor

4 ~xcutiv Dirctor, Highway Program if Excutiv Offic High Dsrt Corridor

5 ATTACHMENT A High Dsrt Corridor Scoping Summary Rport Excutiv Summary Introduction Th High Dsrt Corridor (HDC) projct is bing undrtakn by th California Dpartmnt of Transportation (Caltrans) in coordination with th Los Angls County Mtropolitan Transportation Authority (Mtro) and othr partnr agncis. Th HDC projct involvs th construction of a nw approximatly 63-mil long ast-wst frway/xprssway, and possibl toll or rail facility, btwn Stat Rout (SR) 14 in Los Angls County and SR-18 in San Brnardino County. Th HDC was idntifid as th E- 220 in th Saf Accountabl Flxibl Efficint Transportation Equity Act; A Lgacy for Usrs (SAFETEA-LU) and is officially dsignatd as a High Priority Corridor on th National Highway Systm. Th projct is proposd as a mans of improving mobility and accss for popl and goods in th rapidly growing Antlop, Victor, and Appl Vally aras of Los Angls and San Brnardino Countis. To comply with th rquirmnts of th California Environmntal Quality Act (CEQA) and th National Environmntal Policy Act (NEPA), an nvironmntal impact rportlstatmnt (EIRIEIS) is bing prpard. CEQA and NEPA both ncourag public participation throughout th dvlopmnt of an EIRIEIS. Scoping is a mans of soliciting input, arly in th dvlopmnt procss, concrning th projct purpos and nd, th rang of altrnativs to b analyzd, and th scop of th analysis to b includd in th nvironmntal documnt. This Scoping Summary Rport (SSR) has bn prpard to documnt th scoping activitis conductd to solicit input from th public and govrnmnt agncis, to idntify public and agncy concrns and to dfin th nvironmntal issus and altrnativs to b xamind in th EIRIEIS. This rport covrs outrach conductd during th formal scoping priod of Sptmbr 24, 2010 through Novmbr 1, Public and agncy outrach fforts will continu throughout th projct dvlopmnt procss. Scoping Activitis Extnsiv fforts hav bn mad to ncourag public and agncy participation in th scoping procss. Ths fforts ar dscribd in Sction 2 of this SSR and includd: 0 Publishing a Notic of Intnt and Notic of Prparation (NOI/NOP) 0 Establishing a wb prsnc for convnint public accss Mailing ovr 25,000 postcards to rsidnts and proprty ownrs

6 ATTACHMENT A Mailing lttrs to appropriat local, stat and fdral agncis and lctd officials Posting scoping notics at public libraris Publishing scoping notics in local Providing a HDC prsntation at th Inland Empir WTS lunchon Holding on (1) formal agncy scoping mting a Holding four (4) formal public scoping mtings It should b notd that ovr 600 popl attndd ths last 3 listd prsntations on th HDC. Public and agncy outrach activitis, including thos anticipatd to tak plac in th nar futur, ar shown in Figur ES-1 blow. Figur ES-1. Proict Outrach Activitis ISot throuh March Commnts Commnts wr rcivd from 214 diffrnt agncis, community groups, mmbrs of th public, lctd officials, and othr intrstd partis via lttrs, mails, commnt cards, and individuals' oral tstimony. Ths commnts ar summarizd in Sction 3 of th SSR; all writtn commnts ar also includd in thir ntirty in Appndix A. Writtn commnts from th public covrd a wid rang of issus. Primary aras of concrn includd th projct purpos and nd, th altrnativs to b analyzd in th EIS, potntial impacts to community, cultural and biological rsourcs, and mitigation masurs. Public spokn commnts focusd primarily on nding mor information about th projct altrnativs, dsign faturs, funding, community concrns, and rightof-way acquisition. Agncy commnts oftn focusd on th jurisdictional rsponsibilitis of th particular agncy and includd issus such as purpos and nd for th projct, dsign faturs, traffic impacts, prmits and th nvironmntal documnt. All th agncis involvd ar

7 ATTACHMENT A rqusting that futur projct information as it bcoms availabl b promptly providd. Ovrall, th scoping procss has providd a wid array of commnts from th public and agncis potntially affctd by th projct. Ths commnts will hlp guid th dvlopmnt of th projct and prparation of th nvironmntal documnt. Caltrans' goal is to nsur that all rlvant CEQA/NEPA rsourc issus ar fully analyzd and documntd in th EIR/EIS. Caltrans and its partnr agncis will continu with thir outrach fforts in an attmpt to fully ngag th public and agncis in th dvlopmnt of this projct.

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