CCMIN071596 - Laserfiche WebLink

mitigations throughout the rest of the city. The problem is the other improvements would have to be done at the first intersections off the interchanges, for instance, Hopyard/Owens, Stoneridge, etc. There is no way to widen those offramps and intersections more than they are now. Most traffic engineers will tell you that having four lanes in both directions does not gain much in level of service. We are constrained with respect to available rights of way as well. Ms. Mohr asked when this process would have to start. Mr. Swift felt that if the five year projection shows level of service E or worse, then staff would begin to put together a process to come to Council and say, let's begin doing the steps to bring a West Las Positas interchange package in front of Council and then to CalTrans. It is a long process. The EIR that was done in the early 1980's will no longer serve the purpose so another environmental document will have to be done. There are interested citizens who are concerned about traffic impacts on their streets and there are option packages that can be built into an interchange project in terms of what happens on various streets, with regard to access, traffic measures to restrict through traffic. Noise is also an issue. All those things would be looked at. Ms. Dennis asked if design issues could be addressed in an initiative. Mr. Swift said they could. Ms. Mohr felt there would be another General Plan review in six or seven years that would fall during this same time period. Mr. Swift believed that the decision would have been made regarding the plan well before six or seven years and then efforts would be made to get CalTrans approval, to negotiate all the various agreements, and go out to bid. That takes about three years. It would take a year to a year and a half to get all the information available to develop a plan that Council likes and the citizens like. Then an initiative would occur should enough of the population not like the solution ultimately chosen. Mr. Mohr felt perhaps the next General Plan review would take this on and that would give us the citizen input necessary and we could spin off that for an initiative. Mr. Pico did not think it appropriate to wait for another General Plan review to get the citizen input and to get the studies of any alternatives. That would preclude or minimize any options that may be available. To wait until everything is built out and the need is there for the interchange and there are no options does not listen to the concerns from the neighbors in the area and try to mitigate them. The General Plan Steering Committee recommendation to proceed with a study group on this issue makes sense and we ought to be involving the neighbors and others impacted by this decision to do some planning for the future. We should not wait until there is a major crisis that give no choice but to build the interchange. 07/15/96 -6-