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Changes which move the Draft Circulation Element towards Sustainability Policies and programs have been updated and added to reflect the General Plan goal to move towards a more sustainable community. These changes place a greater emphasis on facilitating trips by transit, carpool, bicycle, or walking rather than the single occupancy vehicle, and include several policies and programs originally developed by the Pleasanton Energy Committee for the Draft Energy Element. Because they concern travel alternatives or vehicle efficiency, they are included in the Draft Circulation Element. Neighborhood Traffic and Parking In 1998, the City adopted a Traffic Calming Program and subsequently has also developed a toolbox of traffic calming measures that can be used in a variety of situations to protect neighborhoods from speeding and cut-through traffic. These are described in the Background section of the Draft Element and a new goal, policies and programs have been added which directly address neighborhood traffic and parking issues. Gateway Constraint Concept The Draft Circulation Element includes a list of "gateway" intersections which are generally those intersections immediately adjacent to interchanges at I-680, I-580, as well as the intersection at Stanley Boulevard and Valley Avenue/Bernal Avenue. The gateway intersections are those intersections through which traffic moves either entering or leaving the City of Pleasanton. The gateway constraint concept allows more peak hour congestion at these intersections compared to the city-wide Level of Service standard of D when improvements to the intersection would have a negative impact on visual character or pedestrian amenities at these intersections. Constrained gateways also act to meter traffic and result in less down-stream traffic congestion. Financing of Traffic Improvements Policies in the 1996 General Plan looked to large developments and assessment districts to complete the City's street and highway system. Since the 1996 General Plan was adopted, the City of Pleasanton has enacted a Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) which is imposed on developers of new residential units and commercial space and is used to fund citywide traffic improvements identified in the Circulation Element. The fee is based on the number of p.m. peak hour trips which will be generated by the new development and represents an equitable mechanism for sharing the burden of needed traffic improvements. The fee also meets the requirement of AB 1600 (State law) for a nexus or direct connection between the impact of a project and the public improvements the project is required to finance or construct. A traffic study and the financing of specific improvements at critical intersections will still be required for large-scale projects and the TIF pool of funds will be used by the City through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) process to improve various congested intersections throughout town. The details of which projects will require additional study and the content of traffic impact studies will be stated in the Traffic Baseline Report. Page 5 of 7