CCMIN091598 - Laserfiche WebLink

Matt Sullivan, 4324 Muirwood Drive, said the report tells him what he has known all along: That the City is heading for gridlock on the City streets. It is a shame that this report was not issued ten years ago when the City still had the ability to do something substantial about the results. He said the price the City has to pay for rapid growth is too high (i.e. transportation issues, drinking recycled sewage and overcrowded schools). Traffic congestion is a local, regional, and global problem. The by-products of the automobile dependent society is global warming, air/water pollution, unsustainable resource consumption, deaths in the thousands, loss of open space and species habitat and social disintegration. He believed that the City and the residents can do something. The General Plan states that if traffic exceeds the level of service D, all mitigation measures necessary shall be taken, including the withholding of building permits. He felt a building moratorium should be discussed. Second, the development has to be planned in such a way that minimizes the dependency on cars, i.e. have businesses and employees close to each other. He felt the roadway improvements in the report needed to be evaluated. He believed trip reduction is the solution. The General Plan calls for the development of alternative transportation modes to the single occupation vehicle. Included are goals to increase transit, reduce average daily trips, support and expand Wheels, encourage the expansion of BART, support the use of alternate fuel vehicles, support Paratransit, create and maintain safe and effective bicycle/pedestrian system. In order for the trip reduction plan to work, a convenient and affordable alternative must be provided. He said there are committees within the City that may have some additional ideas. The City needs to become more educated in the alternatives than simply adding more vehicles to the problem. He understood a problem of this magnitude cannot be solved overnight. Local, regional and global agencies need to work together to resolve the problem. The City needs vision, courage, and leadership in order to resolve this issue. Tom Gill, 4540 Muirwood Drive, said the report does not have any information regarding how to reduce trips. He had many concerns: the widening of more streets; the exclusion of Staples Ranch from the East Side Pleasanton Study; West Las Positas/Stoneridge Drive having a second eastbound lane created. (Please refer to the attached document, "Imagine" for further remarks.) Mark Sweeney, 4309 Hacienda Drive, said he was here tonight to discuss a decrease in square footage of the Hacienda Business Park and not the 548,000 undeveloped square footage. Mayor Tarver understood the development agreement regarding the Business Park did not include the 548,000 square feet. Mr. Sweeney said most of the projects that would come to Council to talk about expanding are not covered by any development agreement. The development agreement that he is discussing only effects those properties that were undeveloped in 1993. Ms. Ayala understood the developers would then have to come before Council to get approval. Pleasanton City Council Minutes 15 09/15/98