CCMIN013007 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Fox said this process has been going on for over four years. She noted the reason it was decided not to model Stoneridge sooner was that as land use changes are discussed, it would be necessary to do the work twice. She indicated the initial General Plan review was to take eighteen months and the process is only half over. She sought to have a solid land use plan before modeling the Stoneridge Drive extension. She supports modeling the TOD in conjunction with the land use planning. She stated traffic models look at the shortest route a person would take with the least amount of time. She suggested basing the model on the MTC data and look at what the time period would do for the rest of the traffic especially during peak periods. Regarding constrained gateways, she agreed with the policy, however she believed the city was doing what it could to keep people from getting on I-580. Ramp metering has been installed and that has resulted on backups on Santa Rita and Pimlico. She agreed with metering when it is LOS C or D, however, when you meter a freeway when no other city is metering it and 680 to 580 interchanges are not metered, you are deterring people from using the freeway and forcing them to cut through city streets like Valley Avenue. She suggested removing metering to make it easier to get onto 580. She would like to move forward with the General Plan process and agreed people should be comfortable with the modeling process. She also noted her concerns about analysis paralysis. Commissioner Blank believed if the metering were removed, it would allow traffic to move forward only another 200 yards. He supports looking at a TOD alternative abd believes there is no harm doing the Stoneridge study early. He agreed with validating the model because there appears to be a lack of confidence in the ability to model accurately. He suggests a peer review of the model and the way it is being applied. He also suggested some variations to the model that would show the median for traffic and standard deviations as he believes we need to know what the impacts of those deviations would be. Finally, he encouraged a mechanism to be used every year to track the performance of the plan rather than waiting until the next General Plan review. Commissioner Pearce supports modeling the TOD for reasons of traffic, affordability, and environmentally sound development standpoints. She suggested the Stoneridge extension be modeled now as she has always wanted to see more data at the beginning of the process. She had concerns about the constrained gateway concept and acknowledged the way gateways look are important in terms of community character. She agreed with Commissioner Fox about the congestion at the gateways inhibiting freeway access. Commissioner Olson supported modeling the Stoneridge extension right away. He was in favor of modeling the transit oriented development as well. He supports formalizing the constrained gateway concept and making it a policy in the General Plan. He supports creative use of traffic signals and signal sequencing as opposed to widening gateways and doing away with landscaping. Commissioner O'Connor supports modeling Stoneridge Drive sooner rather than later. He believes the more information we have to make decisions between now and the time the EIR is done, the better. He approved looking at the TOD model and felt it would provide more than just lower-cost housing. He believes it could also solve future traffic impacts that would occur from the dispersed land use model. He did not support removing landscaping. He reiterated his concern about removing the landscaping and beautification that makes Pleasanton the City it is. City Council Minutes 13 January 30, 2007 Joint Workshop