What is the difference between the earlier Alternatives Analysis (AA) and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIS/EIR) currently underway?
The AA Study assessed the need for a transit improvement on the Westside and evaluated a wide range of options to meet this need. We evaluated 17 different alignment options, various transit modes including heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit and monorail, as well as looked at alternatives that ran at ground-level, above-ground and below-ground. The AA Study provides a great deal of important information to the Draft EIS/EIR, but does not result in sufficiently identifying a project that is ready for final environmental clearance, to begin engineering, or that can compete for federal “New Starts” funds. The Draft EIS/EIR will identify a project that meets these goals. It incorporates and references the work of the AA Study, but evaluates the alternatives in much greater detail including exact locations for proposed stations, station entrances and tunnels, as well as potential impacts from the project and its construction.
