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STAFF RECOMMENDATION OF A LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE (LPA)
After incorporating significant analysis and public feedback on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR), San Francisco County Transportation Authority (Authority) and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) staff are preparing a report recommending a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project. The LPA recommendation was considered and approved by the SFMTA Board on May 15 and will be voted on by the Authority Plans and Programs Committee on June 19 and the Authority Board on June 26. The Draft EIS/EIR reviewed a No Build Alternative and three build alternatives (see visualizations), one on the side (Alternative 2) and two center lane options (Alternatives 3 and 4), as well as a reduced left turn variant. The staff LPA report recommends a refinement of the center running alternatives (see graphic, above). Under this proposal, BRT lanes would flank the center median except at stations where the BRT vehicles would transition to the center of the roadway and be protected by right side boarding platforms. This alternative would retain the high performance features of Build Alternatives 3 and 4 (e.g., faster, more reliable performance) while avoiding the need to acquire left-right door vehicles or rebuild the entire median. This alternative would also eliminate all left turns from Van Ness Avenue between Mission and Lombard streets with the exception of a southbound (two lane) left turn at Broadway in order to gain the most transit travel time benefits. Once the Authority Board adopts the LPA report, the staff recommended LPA will be analyzed in the Final EIS/EIR, which is scheduled to be completed in summer, 2012. SFMTA will approve the project, and the Authority and FTA will approve the Final EIS/EIR in Fall 2012. Project construction could begin as early as 2015 with revenue service beginning in 2017. PUBLIC OUTREACHAs noted above, the LPA recommendation was considered and approved by the SFMTA Board on May 15 and will be voted on by the Authority Plans and Programs Committee on June 19 and the Authority Board on June 26. Please see the listing of dates and locations of upcoming meetings where the LPA will be discussed, and re-visit that page to see updates and additional meetings. BUS RAPID TRANSIT ON VAN NESS AVENUEBus Rapid Transit (BRT) is intended as an affordable approach to creating rapid transit along Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco's major north-south transit route, for two miles between Mission and Lombard Streets. The three BRT build alternatives and one design variation analyzed for environmental review all include:
While undergoing planning and design, the project received the FTA's highest rating for cost-effectiveness several years in a row, an indication of its high benefit-to-cost ratio. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) was available for public review and comment for 45 days, ending on December 23, 2011. The document compares BRT alternatives to conditions without BRT and documents how the BRT alternatives would affect a range of issues. It analyzed three BRT alternative configurations and one design variation. In early 2012 we will identify a locally preferred alternative (LPA), based on the technical analysis and public and agency input. For more information, see the Environmental Review page.
El borrador de EIS/EIR que describe el proyecto y los posibles impactos ambientales estaba disponible al público durante 45 días-cierre de comentarios el 23 de diciembre de 2011. El BRT de Van Ness Avenue, propuesto para Van Ness Avenue (y una cuadra de South Van Ness Avenue), se extenderá aproximadamente 2 millas desde Mission Street hasta Lombard Street. Todas las alternativas que requieren obra civil proponen convertir un carril de uso mixto en cada dirección en carril exclusivo para vehículos de transporte público. Las alternativas que requieren obra civil se construirían dentro de la vía pública existente e incorporarían las siguientes características: carriles exclusivos para autobús, abordaje a nivel de la plataforma, paradas limitadas en estaciones de alta calidad, semáforos prioritarios para los autobuses, mejorías a la seguridad del peatón, y otras características. EIS/EIR草案所描述的專案和潛在環境影響在45天內供公眾審閱和評論，所有評論意見均需在2011年12月23日之前提出。提議的Van Ness Avenue BRT地點在Van Ness Avenue（和South Van Ness Avenue的一個街區）上，從Mission Street到Lombard Street延伸約兩英里。在每一套建造選擇方案中，兩條不同方向的車道（一條南向，一條 北向）將轉換為兩條公交車專用車道。建造選擇方案將完全在現有街道公路用地範圍內，並將包括以下特 徵：專用公交車車道、平面上車、統一公交系統停車站、優質車站、公交系統交通信號燈優先排序、行人安 全增強設施等。 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIODThe Draft EIS/EIR, describing the project and potential environmental impacts, was available for public review and comment for 45 days, ending on December 23, 2011. It is still available for download (PDF) on our Environmental Review page. You can also download a PDF copy of the Executive Summary. The entire document may be viewed on CD or as hard-copy at the Authority's offices (see address below). Although the public comment period is closed, we encourage members of the public to contact us about the project via email or letter, addressed to Van Ness BRT EIS/EIR, Attn: Michael Schwartz, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, 100 Van Ness Avenue, 26th floor, San Francisco, CA 94102. PROJECT SCHEDULE
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