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Jake Krakauer said Milpitas was located between two major freeways, they have <br />significant regional traffic issues, commuters routinely use secondary and tertiary streets, <br />alternate commute routes conflict with school access, and he has personally sat in <br />commute traffic for 4 light changes during the school drop off time because it was still <br />faster than sitting on the freeway. He felt cut-through traffic affected all neighborhoods, <br />not just the neighborhood where people exit the freeway, but the entire City between the <br />two freeways, and major freeway incidents cause complete gridlock in the city. Milpitas <br />has right-turn restrictions in residential and school areas between 6-9 am, except for <br />carpools, speed bumps in residential areas and non-timed traffic lights. In the regional <br />category, Mission South and the 880 interchange being built, carpool lanes on 680 and <br />880 will be coming, but a connector between the two freeways which is what was really <br />needed, does not exist. Milpitas will not build that because they consider this a regional <br />traffic problem which must be solved by people other than the City of Milpitas. People look <br />for any alternative to reduce travel time or reduce stop and go freeway traffic, cut-through <br />traffic affects all neighborhoods, and until regional issues are solved, local solutions will <br />have minimal impact. He felt what was needed was confidence that before a Stoneridge <br />extension is approved, Pleasanton residents will benefit. Secondly, that Valley Avenue <br />resident's can gain without destroying the Stoneridge neighborhood at the same time. He <br />asked that Council consider how to achieve a balance while moving forward. <br />Mike Manning said about 4 years ago he began his own traffic study research. He said he <br />was on Valley and Santa Rita waiting for traffic to move along and got side-swiped by a <br />motorcycle speeding through. From that point on, he paid particular attention to that area. <br />Almost everyday he walks across the street to Safeway, agrees it is unsafe, said as each <br />year goes by, there is not only more traffic but the pattern has a longer duration. He felt it <br />was amazing in the amount of time it takes to maneuver around traffic. He said he and his <br />wife walk and ride bikes a lot and felt that the most impacted area was in the Valley and <br />Santa Rita area and encouraged the Council to re-distribute the traffic. He does not see <br />putting through an extension would cut down on traffic, but does see the need to re- <br />distribute it and encouraged this. <br />There being no further speakers, public comment was closed. <br />Mayor Hosterman said when she was elected to Council, her biggest interest was <br />transportation and circulation, agreed Pleasanton was a lovely community but felt the city <br />was at risk of losing its special quality of life. She identified years ago that if we continue to <br />see increased congestion on 580 and 680 and then add a completed Stoneridge Drive <br />from 580 to 680, we could essentially be providing for yet another congestion freeway-like <br />road through the middle of town. Because of this she has advocated over the years to take <br />the Stoneridge extension out of the General Plan. She campaigned on the issue three <br />times, has made promises on the issue all the while recognizing and working hard through <br />transportation agencies to try and address regional traffic, and they have done this to a <br />certain degree. Over the last 2-3 years, many have worked hard on a solution to getting <br />the congested freeway system moving, which includes a number of freeway infrastructure <br />improvements. They also identified the price tag for those improvements. <br />She said at the last Triangle Traffic Committee Study they identified all three legs of the <br />freeway system surrounding Pleasanton. Regional partners withheld much needed <br />improvements on State Route 84 from the table pending the outcome of this meeting <br />tonight and said to them loud and clear that they want to force us to keep Stoneridge Drive <br />City Council Minutes 15 May 1, 2007 <br />