3.7 visual and aesthetic resources€¦ · the purpose of this inventory is to document the visual...

Preliminary Engineering / Environmental Impact StatementNorthwest Corridor LRT Line to Irving and DFW Airport

Final Environmental Impact Statement 3 - 64Chapter 3 Affected Environment

3.7 VISUAL AND AESTHETIC RESOURCES

3.7.1 Overview of the CorridorThe DART Northwest Corridor LRT line to Irving/DFW begins near the Bachman Station of theCarrollton/Farmers Branch LRT Line in Dallas. The area is characterized by multi-familyresidential, industrial, and commercial uses from Denton Drive west to the eastern levee of theTrinity River. The alignment crosses over IH 35-E (Stemmons Freeway) and crosses the floodplain of the Trinity River parallel to Spur 482. Entering Irving, the alignment passes by a truckterminal facility and Texas Stadium, then over the Loop 12 freeway. The line is in the right-of-wayof SH 183 as it passes by the University of Dallas campus and the Cistercian monastery andPreparatory School. The line passes through the Las Colinas Urban Center on the east side ofLake Carolyn, through an area of high-rise and low-rise office buildings and newly-constructedmulti-family residences. As the line leaves the Urban Center, it passes vacant parcels of land andrises to cross over SH 183. There is a mix of vacant land, low- and mid-rise offices, and multi-family residences west of SH 183. The alignment passes by the site of the original Carpenterfamily homestead, “Rancho Las Colinas”, some mid-rise offices, North Lake Community College,and a small light industrial area before entering Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport property.The rail line is in an open area of the airfield on airport property and terminates southeast of theintersection of Belt Line Road and Valley View Lane.

Inventory of Visual ResourcesA visual inventory of the corridor was undertaken to provide an overview of the various characterareas along the corridor. The purpose of this inventory is to document the visual and aestheticresources within the corridor that may be impacted by the proposed action. The analysis ofpotential impacts will address how the proposed action will affect the views, vistas and areas ofspecial design character. This includes the character of both the built and the natural environment.

In addition to addressing affected views, the analysis will also address how the proposed projectmay affect the visual privacy of adjacent uses. Therefore, the inventory addresses sensitiveadjacent land uses, such as single and multi-family residential development.

3.7.2 Corridor Assessment Unit DescriptionsFor the purpose of documenting the visual inventory of the corridor, the study area was, based onfield observation, categorized into seven assessment units shown in Figures 3-22 and 3-23. Eachof these units was delineated based on its general visual character and the commonality of its landuses. Table 3-27 provides a general rating of each unit’s visual quality, sensitivity to change,primary viewers, and sensitive visual assets or receptors. Table 3-28 provides definitions of theratings used in evaluating each assessment unit. Each of the seven assessment units is describedbelow.

!!

LUNA RD

HARRY HINES BLVDNORTHWEST HWY

UV114

UV183

UV354

&-482

&-348

REGAL ROW

TOM BRANIFF DR

WEB CHAPEL RD

STOREY LN

CALIFORNIA CROSSING RD

")12

§̈¦35E

")12

§̈¦35E

Irving

Dallas Joes Creek

JOHN CARPENTER FWY

DENTON DR

BNSF

RR Elm Fo rk Tr ini t y R iver

ROCHELLE BLVD

E AIRPORT FWY

NORTHGATE DR

N O' CONNOR RD

!!

!!

!!

!!

!!

Bachman

Lake Carolyn

North Las Colinas

Loop 12 (deferred)

University of Dallas

South Las Colinas (deferred)

1

4

2

3

5

Figure 3-22

NW Corridor LRT Line to Irving/DFWEnvironmental Impact Statement

Visual Analysis UnitsEast Section

Source: S.R. Beard & Associates, 2005

´0 2,000 4,0001,000Feet

Legend

Carrollton-Farmers Branch LRT Line

Proposed StationProposed LRT Line to Irving/DFW

!!

Visual Analysis Unit

ROYAL LN

JOHN CARPENTER FWY

LUNA RD

WALNUT HILL LN

ESTERS RD

STORY RD

RIVERSIDE DR

HIDDEN

RIDGE DR

UV114

UV161&-348

Hackberry Creek

Cottonwood Bran ch

VALLE

Y VIEW

LN

ROCHELLE BLVD

PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH TPKE

MACARTHUR BLVDN MACARTHUR BLVD

WALNUT HILL LN

BELT LINE RD

Irving

Dallas

N O' CONNOR RD

CARBON RD

DFW InternationalAirport

HURD DR

COLWELL B

LVD

LAS COLINAS B LV D

!!

!!

!!

!!

!!

N. MacArthur Blvd

Belt LineRoad

Luna Rd

Lake Carolyn

Carpenter Ranch

North Las ColinasNorth Lake College

6

5

4

7

Figure 3-23

NW Corridor LRT Line to Irving/DFWEnvironmental Impact Statement

Visual Analysis UnitsWest Section

Source: S.R. Beard & Associates, 2005

0 2,000 4,0001,000Feet ´

Legend

Proposed StationProposed LRT Line to Irving/DFW

!!

Visual Analysis Unit



TABLE 3-27GENERAL RATING OF CORRIDOR VISUAL ASSESSMENT UNITS

Unit Name City PrimaryViewers

VisualQuality

VisualSensitivity

Sensitive Receptors/Assets

1 Bachman/Trinity River

Dallas/Irving

A, D, E, F Moderate ModerateStorey Rd office and industrialtenants, L.B. Houston Park(undeveloped) users

2 CentralFreight/Texas

Stadium

Irving A, F Low Low Central Freight, FedEx

3 University ofDallas/

CistercianIrving A, C, H Moderate Moderate

U. of Dallas,Abbey residences,Cistercian school

4Las Colinas

Urban CenterIrving A, C, D, E, G Moderate Moderate

MF residences, commercial/officetenants,Campion Park users

5 North Irving/NorthwestHighway

Irving A, C, E Moderate LowMF residences, hotels,commercial/office tenants,

6 CarpenterRanch/

North LakeCollege

Irving A, B, C, E,High-

ModerateHigh-

ModerateSF & MF residences, hotels,commercial/office tenants

7 DFW Airport/Belt Line

Irving A, E, F Moderate Low Industrial, office/commercial tenants

Source: HDR | .R.Beard, 2006

TABLE 3-28EVALUATION RATINGS

Primary Viewers Visual Quality Visual SensitivityA = Arterial Motorists

B = Single Family Residents

C = Multi-Family Residents

D = Recreational Users

E = Commercial/OfficeTenants

F = Industrial Tenants

G = Downtown Pedestrians

H = Others

High = Assessment unit orportions thereof is of significantvisual or aesthetic quality to theprimary viewers.

Moderate = Assessment unit orportions thereof is of averagevisual or aesthetic quality to theprimary viewers.

Low = Assessment unit is of littleor no visual or aesthetic quality tothe primary viewers.

High = Introduction of new elements into theassessment unit could significantly impact thequality of the visual/aesthetic resource asobserved by the primary viewers.

Moderate = Introduction of new elements intothe assessment unit may have an impact thequality of the visual/aesthetic resource unit or aportion thereof as observed by the primaryviewers.

Low = Introduction of new elements into theassessment unit is not likely to have an impacton any visual/aesthetic resource as observedby the primary viewers.

Source: HDR | S.R.Beard, 2006

Unit 1 – Bachman/Trinity RiverThis Unit begins North of and is adjacent to the Bachman Station of the Carrollton/Farmers BranchLRT Line. The unit is comprised of a mixed multi-family, commercial and light industrial area,much of which is in reclaimed floodplain adjacent to the Trinity River. It is characterized visually bythe large trees and vegetation in the river floodplain between the levees, and by the concrete andmasonry buildings, and the concrete and steel highway and power transmission structures thatpredominate in the rest of the area.



Unit 2 – Central Freight/Texas StadiumThe visual landscape of this area is dominated by the highways and their interchange structures,one-story warehouse and distribution buildings, and the approximately 100-foot high dome ofTexas Stadium on the southeast. Large power transmission lines parallel the highways.

Unit 3 – University of Dallas/CistercianThe University of Dallas/Cistercian unit is characterized by low hills, the open green areas of theUniversity of Dallas campus, and mesquite trees and other vegetation of the Cistercian monasteryand school site to the northwest. There are also vacant hills on the northwest side of SH 114,adjacent to the University of Dallas station site.

Unit 4 – Las Colinas Urban CenterThe Las Colinas Urban Center unit is a mixture of 15-, 20-, and 30-story high-rise office buildingsalong with low-rise residential, hotel and retail on the southwest side of Lake Carolyn. Low-risefour-story apartment, condominium and retail development (some recently built, others still underconstruction) predominates along the east side of the lake, adjacent to the South Las Colinas andLake Carolyn station sites. The grassy medians and newly-planted landscaping of Lake CarolynBoulevard are the main visual features along the LRT project alignment. The views throughout theUrban Center include the lake and the variety of building heights, as well as large undevelopedtracts of land to the north and heavy trees and vegetation along the Trinity River to the northeast ofthe lake.

Unit 5 – North Irving/Northwest HighwayThe North Irving/Northwest Highway unit is dominated by views of vacant land and low-riseresidential buildings under construction along Lake Carolyn Boulevard north of O’ConnorBoulevard. Views to the northeast are of the heavy trees and vegetation along the Trinity Riverfloodplain. The concrete and steel bridge and overpass structures of the Northwest Highway/SH114 interchange are dominant at the north end of the area. One six-story hotel stands among thevacant land on the east side of SH 114 just south of the interchange.

Unit 6 – Carpenter Ranch/North Lake CollegeThe Carpenter Ranch/North Lake College Unit is best characterized as hilly and landscaped, with amixture of low-rise commercial and residential buildings; a small lake, a golf course and other openareas; mid-rise office buildings; and some vacant land. The highest point along the alignment,southeast of the intersection of Hidden Ridge and MacArthur Boulevard, offers some of the bestviews in northwest Dallas County. Nearby are the Tournament Players Club golf course, NorthLake College, and surrounding residential areas; more distant views are of the high-rise buildingsof Las Colinas Urban Center, downtown Dallas and the IH 35E Stemmons corridor to the southeastand south. The alignment crosses MacArthur to run along the north side of the North LakeCommunity College campus, adjacent to low-rise multi-family residential buildings on a slight hill tothe north. The views from where the alignment crosses Brangus are of the campus to the south,Las Colinas Urban Center to the east-southeast, and single-family residential areas and hills to thenorth and northwest. The western end of this visual unit has one-story light industrial buildingsfrom Walnut Hill Lane to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport property fence.

Unit 7 – DFW Airport/Belt LineThe DFW Airport/Belt Line Unit is slightly hilly, and covered with brush and trees. The LRTalignment is on the airport property, and includes the runway approach clear zone. There areviews to the surrounding light industrial buildings southeast of SH 161 (George Bush Turnpike),and a small bank and City of Irving maintenance facility on the northwest side of SH 161. Theother features are the toll gate structures at the entrance and exit ramps on the highway, and thedominant toll plaza structure that spans the width of the highway just southwest of where thealignment crosses the highway.

3.7 visual and aesthetic resources€¦ · the purpose of this inventory is to document the visual...

Documents