Final Environmental Impact Report - Whittier Bridge/I-95 ...
Final Environmental Impact Report - Whittier Bridge/I-95 ...
Final Environmental Impact Report - Whittier Bridge/I-95 ...
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<strong>Whittier</strong> <strong>Bridge</strong>/I-<strong>95</strong> Improvement Project FEIR<br />
Chapter 2.0: Response to Comments on the <strong>Environmental</strong> Assessment/Draft <strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Impact</strong> <strong>Report</strong><br />
2.5 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS<br />
2.5.1 Coastal Trails Coalition<br />
The Coastal Trails Coalition (CTC) submitted a letter dated December 20, 2011.<br />
CTC-1: The Shared-Use Path will be an outstanding addition to the alternative transportation network in the lower<br />
Merrimack Valley. However, the current design leaves out two vital connections that are needed to make the Shared-<br />
Use Path complete and fully functional. First, there is no connection between the Shared-Use Path and Main<br />
Street/Evans Place in Amesbury and the Amesbury Visitors Center right next to I-<strong>95</strong>. Second, there is no connection<br />
between Salisbury's Ghost Trail and Amesbury.<br />
The connection to Main Street/Evans Place is needed to permit pedestrians and bicyclists to get to the Shared-Use<br />
Path from Amesbury's riverside neighborhoods, from downtown and from towns west of Amesbury. It would facilitate<br />
commuting to the Route 113 Park & Ride and would also permit users to park at the Amesbury Visitors Center next<br />
to I-<strong>95</strong> and walk or bike a short distance to the river crossing. The connection could easily be made on municipallyowned<br />
property that lies adjacent to the Shared-Use Path and to I-<strong>95</strong> by using a spiral pedestrian/bicycle ramp<br />
similar to that used on I-394 in Minnesota (see picture enclosed) or an equivalent pedestrian/bicycle facility.<br />
The Secretary's Certificate on the <strong>Environmental</strong> Notification Form for the project required the Draft EIR to<br />
"investigate the feasibility of providing additional bicycle path and pedestrian connections" (EEA-16) and to "identify<br />
additional commitments to improved connections" (EEA-17). The Draft EIR did not include any investigation of the<br />
feasibility of making this vital connection. We request that you require MassDOT to make this vital pedestrian/ bicycle<br />
connection as part of the project. The project considered a number of potential connections from the Shared-Use<br />
Path to the vicinity of the existing Visitor Information Center at 520 Main Street. The visitor center building is the<br />
former Smith’s Chain <strong>Bridge</strong> Filling Station No. 3 and has been determined by the State Historic Preservation Officer<br />
to be eligible for individual listing in the National Register. As such, any construction on its lot or modifications of the<br />
building would trigger review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and would require<br />
modification of the project’s Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement. If determined to be an adverse impact under<br />
Section 106, Section 4(f) would be triggered. Additionally, the limited space available at the 520 Main Street location<br />
and the difference in elevation between the visitor center parcel and the shared use path (approximately 40-feet)<br />
would make a connection infeasible, would require a large ramp structure with grades in excess of handicapped<br />
accessibility requirements and result in additional wetland impacts to Wetland I, located behind the visitor center<br />
building. Additional wetland impacts in excess of 40 square feet at Wetland I would result in the need for wetlands<br />
Variance for the project, whose timeline would push the project outside of the Accelerated <strong>Bridge</strong> Program funding<br />
schedule.<br />
Response: Several comment letters have requested consideration of an additional access point to<br />
the Shared-Use Path in the vicinity of the existing Visitor Information Center at 520 Main Street. The<br />
visitor center, the former Smith‘s Chain <strong>Bridge</strong> Filling Station No. 3, has been determined by the<br />
State Historic Preservation Officer to be eligible for individual listing in the National Register of<br />
Historic Places. As such, any construction on its lot or modifications of the building would trigger<br />
review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and would require modification of<br />
the project‘s Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement. If determined to be an adverse impact under<br />
Section 106, Section 4(f) would be triggered. Additionally, the limited space available at the 520<br />
Main Street location and the difference in elevation between the visitor center parcel and the<br />
Shared-Use Path (approximately 40-feet) would make the connection infeasible, require a large<br />
ramp structure with grades in excess of handicapped accessibility requirements and result in<br />
additional wetland impacts to Wetland I, located behind the visitor center building. Additional wetland<br />
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