Commuter rail environmental document available, hearings scheduled
* Analysis document available at 42 Tarrant County locations and online
FORT WORTH, (October 27, 2008) – The T announced today that the draft environmental analysis document for its proposed 37-mile commuter rail line is now available for public review, and public hearings have been scheduled to accept comments on November 12 in Grapevine and on November 13 in Fort Worth.
The document is available at 42 locations in Tarrant County, as well as at www.sw2neRAIL.com. Public hearing dates, times and locations are listed below.
Officially called the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), it documents the purpose and need for the Southwest-to-Northeast Rail Corridor project – a commuter rail line that would carry passengers from Sycamore School Road in southwest Fort Worth, through downtown Fort Worth, on to Grapevine and into the north end of DFW Airport.
The DEIS describes alternatives considered for the route and facilities, and the potential impacts to over 20 resource areas. These areas include water and air quality, plant and animal life, cultural resources, as well as traffic impacts. The document also identifies potential property impacts, evaluates the noise and vibration levels, and proposes measures to avoid, minimize or mitigate any potential impacts identified in the analysis. The information contained in the document analyzes the entire corridor, including all proposed rail stations and a rail maintenance facility.
Comments will be accepted on the document until December 15, 2008. In addition to the public hearings in November, comments may be made via email to info@sw2neRAIL, postal mail at Southwest-to-Northeast Rail Corridor, 1600 E. Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, 76102, and by telephone at 817-215-8785. Comments also may be submitted online at www.sw2neRAIL.com.
As required by the National Environmental Policy Act, public hearings will be conducted to allow oral and written comments that will be incorporated into the final document to be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Anyone is welcome to attend the hearings, which will include an open house for viewing a copy of the DEIS, as well as display boards with environmental information, and station design concepts, a presentation about the contents of the DEIS, and a formal comment period.
Three hearings have been scheduled as follows:
Wednesday, November 12
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Grapevine City Hall
200 S. Main St.
Grapevine 76051 (MAPSCO 27H)
Thursday, November 13
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Intermodal Transportation Center
1001 Jones Street
Fort Worth 76102 (MAPSCO 77A)
Thursday, November 13
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
City of Fort Worth
James Avenue Service Center
5001 James Avenue
Forth Worth 76115 (MAPSCO 90Q)
All facilities are wheelchair accessible. For hearing or sight interpretive services, please contact The T’s Human Resources Department at 817-215-8621, 48 hours in advance of the hearings.
For a list of locations where the DEIS may be viewed (in Acrobat PDF format) - click here
