| Highlight | GP EIR Section | Topic |
| The new General Plan is based on the premise that the traffic and circulation policies will be implemented and work to the degree expected. The EIR states that the climate and push toward trip reduction is better and stronger. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that the Circulation Element policy will be very difficult to achieve and require major efforts, and to acknowledge that trip reductions of the magnitude expected will not be a short term proposition. | Intro | congestion |
| The General Plan defers construction or expansion of existing arterial streets beyond the baseline improvements; provides for plan lines in anticipation of future need; but states that road projects be implemented only when other transportation programs fail to have the desired result. | § IV.B.6.b | road expansion |
| Hwy 1/9, Chestnut-Mission-Hwy, Soquel-Water, and tourist routes (i.e., Ocean) (periodically) will have significant carbon monoxide impacts. | § B.2.c,d | environ- ment |
| The General Plan emphasis on providing and encouraging alternatives to solo automobile trips (ride sharing, transit, bicycling, walking, telecommuting) to avoid street improvements could have significant adverse impacts. | § II.B.16 | transit walk/bike TSM road expansion |
| Without fewer single-occupant vehicle trips, traffic congestion during peak commute periods, and summer and holiday weekends, can be expected to increase. Increasing numbers of car-miles per person, regional population growth, increased numbers of visitors, and increased numbers of jobs are major factors contributing to on. | § II.B.16 | congestion |
| The shift to non-automobile modes or increased occupancy of automobiles is unlikely to occur in the short-term | § II.B.2 | transit walk/bike TSM |
| The General Plan could result in an increased number of automobile trips and potential congestion and air quality impacts, impact parking facilities and various transportation networks. A significant adverse impact may occur as levels of service on certain road segments drops until automobile alternative policies become effective or road improvements are made. | § II.B.6 | quality of life congestion transit walk/bike TSM |
| The no net increase in automobile trips policy will raise controversy in the ways it is implemented. | § II.D | transit walk/bike TSM |
| The Circulation Element calls for the development of an integrated transportation plan. The process of arriving at this plan will probably involve public controversy. | § II.D | selection criteria |
| Baseline improvements (Funded and Approved) include: • Beach Area: Beach, Riverside, Third, Barson, not including Ocean St. Bridge • Harvey West: Hwy 9 to Encinal • Mission St. Widening |
§ II.D.16 | road expansion |
| Baseline improvements (Not Funded or Approved) include: • Ocean St. Widening • River St. Widening • Soquel Corridor • Hwy 1/9 Interchange |
§ II.D.16 | road expansion |
| An issue which this General Plan addresses but does not resolve is the Eastern Access to the University. While the General Plan does not include this project, it remains an open issue since there is an ongoing evaluation of the eastern access concept. | § II.D.6 | strategy road expansion |
| Mitigation measures may improve the circulation system as a whole through enhanced alternatives rather than intersection improvements. | § II.D.6 | strategy transit walk/bike TSM |
| AMBAG estimates the City’s population to grow 10,000 (1.22%/y) = UCSC 7200 (10%/y) & rest of city 2800 (0.4%/y) by 2005 | § III.B.1 | congestion |
| Chestnut-Mission-Hwy 1 has constraints which make capacity improvements difficult. This intersection will have to rely more on shifts away from automobile travel to see improvements. | § IV.B.2.b | congestion transit walk/bike TSM |
| The Hwy 1/9 intersection … will operate at congested levels until a grade separation is built. | § IV.B.2.b | congestion |
| An obvious impact from the construction of an Eastern Access to UCSC is the loss of habitat from clearing of terrain and impacts associated with continued maintenance activities. A new road would isolate habitats, thereby producing habitat fragmentation. Another impact would be the loss of wildlife population killed by moving vehicles. The new road and runoff from the road would alter drainage patterns and perhaps contribute to increased soil erosion. Other impacts include noise and visual impacts. | § IV.B.4.b | UCSC environ- ment |
| A fixed guideway access to UCSC would probably land in the Harvey West area where parking could be developed. | § IV.B.4.b | Strategy road expansion |
| Generally, impacts from [a fixed guideway access to UCSC] project would be less but similar to a road project. | § IV.B.4.b | UCSC mass transit |
| The General Plan will bring with it somewhat greater hazards to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. To the extent that transportation related hazards are proportional to population growth, population increases suggested by the Plan may bring with it greater risks. | § IV.B.6.a | safety |
| Key ASMPS assumptions were: • a series of baseline street projects • a 10% trip reduction as a result of shifts to non-automotive travel. |
§ IV.B.6.b | transit walk/bike TSM |
| The ASMPS concluded that: • Regional and per capita traffic growth account for more traffic increase than new development. • UCSC is a major factor in the traffic impacts on arterial streets. • Different land use scenarios do not affect the street system in major ways. • Even with diversion of trips to carpools and automotive alternatives, vehicular traffic increases. |
§ IV.B.6.b | UCSC transit walk/bike TSM congestion |
| Without |
§ IV.B.6.b | congestion |
| The ASMPS overstates traffic impacts somewhat because it uses a built-out scenario which is greater than projected development. | § IV.B.6.b | congestion |
| Eastern Access would result in a dramatic decrease of cars on High and Bay. | § IV.B.6.b | UCSC quality of life congestion |
| The controversial aspect of an Eastern Access relates to the damage such a road could do to the natural terrain and environment of the Pogonip, a public and very visible open space. | § IV.B.6.b | environ- ment |
| There are also questions of what the actual benefit of an Eastern Access would be inasmuch as the bottleneck at Hwys 1/9 would exist for some time. There is finally a question of what the impact of such a road would have on the very successful TSM measures achieved by the campus and whether this approach to traffic relief is preferable over a transit and automobile alternative approach. Eastern access considerations also include fixed guideway access. | § IV.B.6.b | congestion transit walk/bike TSM |
| The Circulation Element does not include or deal with the Eastern Access because a study is currently under way evaluating the concept in traffic, environmental, financial, and other terms. No decision will be made until the study is completed, and the General Plan may have to be amended. | § IV.B.6.b | Strategy road expansion |
| The City Council has already made a finding of overriding considerations [in connection with several Harvey West development applications], acknowledging that congestion at this intersection represents a significant adverse impact which cannot be mitigated, and that there are compelling reasons to allow development which may further impact this intersection, prior to its reconstruction. | § IV.B.6.b, VIII Comment 5-34 | strategy |
| When LOS drops to E, the Circulation Element requires the preparation of deficiency plans. These plans are intended to demonstrate how the diminished LOS will be improved to the expected level. Deficiency plans are expected to focus on trip reductions through alternative development, with road project improvements as a last resort. Deficiency plans may include improvements to the circulation system as a whole as well as a particular intersection. | § IV.B.6.c | road expansion |
| The 1980 General Plan which is replaced by the 1990 General Plan contained a goal of 30% of all trips by non-automobile means. Over the years, the community achieved a 12% diversion to other modes. However, public transit captured only 1.6% of the trips. | § IV.B.6.d | transit walk/bike TSM |
| With street improvements commitments limited to the funded baseline improvements, it is clear that the passage of time will decrease the LOS for the arterial street sytem unless automobile alternative policies are very successful. However, it is uncertain how trip reduction policies will work, and how long it will take for them to be effective in a meaningful way. Thus an adverse impact is identified for the City streets on the CMP network. | § IV.B.6.d | congestion |
| § IV.B.6.d | congestion | |
| The climate for alternative transportation is significantly different now than it was in the past. Federal and State requirements for implementation of the Clean Air Act and other mandates recognize the importance of alternative transportation. Transportation funding reflects this in greater flexibility in the use of transportation funds. This increases the likelihood of making alternative transportation a reality. There is a prospect that a renewed effort may be more successful than efforts in the past. As a result of the Congestion Management Program, cities and the county are involved in develop a trip reduction ordinance which the City expects to adopt in 1993. Whereas there were no focused programs in the past with the result that trip reduction was virtually inoperative, the Congestion Management Plan will require jurisdictions to pursue similar program. As noted, a monitoring system will be critical in tracking the success of trip reduction efforts. Nevertheless, the expected trip reductions are |
§ IV.B.6.d | transit walk/bike TSM |
| Trip reduction programs are nonspecific to particular intersections and will be much slower in improving LOS than specific street improvements. | § IV.B.6.d | transit walk/bike TSM |
| § IV.B.6.d | transit walk/bike TSM |
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| The most significant mitigation measure for this impact is the monitoring of the transportation system in order to be able to react to actual traffic conditions. Similarly, it is critical to initiate the comprehensive transportation plan in order to allow implementation of programs which require a long lead time to demonstrate their success. | § IV.B.6.d | Strategy quality of life |
| The Circulation Element recognizes the need for an Integrated Transportation Plan which includes strong pedestrian, bicycle, and transit components. It therefore defers specific decision to the development and adoption of an Integrated Transportation Plan. |
§ IV.B.6.d | Strategy transit walk/bike TSM |
| Reduced campus housing may have other impacts. More people would have to make the trip to the campus, putting pressures on transit or roads. The additonal population could impact City services more than if the population resided on-campus. | § V.E.2 | UCSC congestion |
| In a change from the LRDP, the University is exploring meeting its housing goal not strictly on campus but also by placing university housing in the community, especially in the downtown area. The City supports these efforts, in part because it would achieve objectives for rebuilding downtown and intensification in the central city. | § V.E.2 | Strategy UCSC |
| It is unlikely that a new campus will come on line any time soon. There will be ongoing pressures for a State policy to accommodate enrollment demand. … At the same time, the likelihood is much less that housing construction will keep up or get ahead of enrollment growth. … Failure to meet the on-campus housing goal could have major implications for the City. … Given the increasing pressures on the local housing market, more students and employees might locate outside the City. | § V.E.2 | congestion |
| Local growth is not the main component of traffic impact. | § V.E.3 | congestion |
| Terrace Point, Westside Lands: There is great uncertainty over traffic projections … It remains to be seen that trip reductions become an effective means for congestion relief and reduced travel volumes. … Despite the proposed Mission St. project, future traffic conditions could still potentially be at a low of service. | § V.E.4 | congestion |
| Other controversial aspects of the Eastern Access road that should be mentioned include: • its eastward effect on residential patterns of UCSC students, faculty and staff, with corresponding impacts on trip generation, origins and destinations, and, though not a CEQA subject per se, shopping patterns. |
§ VIII Cmt 13-12 | UCSC road expansion |
| The sentence that reads “If the policies of the General Plan are to be effective in terms of no net gain in vehicle trips, a 45% reduction of trips will be required over the term of the plan” is inaccurate. No reduction is required, only an absence of any increase. I am well aware of the challenges that we face in reducing automobile use. Whether the goals of the element are “realistic” or not remains to be seen. The surest way to ensure that they will not be realistic is to project past mistakes onto the future, to use fallacious data, and to continue to subsidize the travel mode that we are seeking to move away from. On these scores, I find the EIR very problematic. I also disagree with the 3rd paragraph of the conclusion: there are examples of trip reductions more rapid and dramatic than what is proposed in this General Plan. | § VIII Cmt 13-13 | transit walk/bike TSM |
| Page 78: … I question whether the expected trip reductions are extreme. The General Plan does not "disallow" street projects The projects referred to as "minor," while not disallowed in the draft General Plan, DO have major fiscal, environmental and policy implications. Moving enthusiastically to relieve congestion by road projects does state that the success of the goals of the Circulation Element. There is an irony here: road projects are pushed because the realistic success of alternatives is questioned; then the resulting expenditure of resources and the expansion of road capacity in themselves mitigate against the success of alternatives. Again, among the many goals of the Circulation Element, the HIGHEST goal is reduction of trips, not short term relief of congestion that often makes everything including congestion worse in the long run. As the CMP notes, LOS deficiencies may be dealt with by measures to improve the entire circulation network - the preferred though not necessarily exclusive approach of the General Plan. |
§ VIII Cmt 13-14 | congestion transit walk/bike TSM road expansion |
| It also does not mention the General Plan policies that call for (1) requesting that UCSC reconsider its Long Range Development Plan when it reaches an enrollment of 12,000, and (2) extension of city services to UCSC only commensurate with UCSC's ability to meet its housing goals. Consideration of a UCSC reduced housing alternative runs counter to the goals, policies and programs of the General Plan. To remain consistent with the General Plan, the EIR should, however, include a reduced enrollment alternative. | § VIII Cmt 13-15 | UCSC |
| Pg 120: The EIR expresses a philosophy regarding housing densities which I generally find agreeable. It also discusses the difficulty in realizing housing potentials despite adequate available land. What it does not discuss is the possibility that allowing significant development at the city's periphery may work against the reality of significant housing in the central core. Most importantly, it does not discuss the inconsistency of major development on Westside Lands with the concurrency policies of the General Plan. Staff’s discussion and alternative proposal on Westside does not consider the possibility that long term significant density housing potential of the land may be preserved while also assuring concurrency of adequate services. It is true that the timing of rail transit in the area is uncertain, as is the timing of university research expansion. I believe that supporting expansion of university research, providing job-housing balance, integrating land use and transportation planning and preserving housing potential as well as natural features of the land in the area all argue for the most recent proposal from Commissioner Spencer and myself. Interestingly, the discussion of Westside Lands and the discussion of circulation goals are related and illustrative. If we are willing to adequately plan for the development of the city, and adhere to concurrency policies, the goals of the Circulation Element will be realistic; if not they won't. The urgency of charting a new course cannot be overstated. [emphasis added] |
§ VIII Cmt 13-19 | congestion |
| I disagree with the assumption of increased car trips per capita, and believe it is misleading. Though the EIR, as well as the ASMPS lack any analysis of the phenomenon, past increases in per capita driving are likely due to a number of factors: • development in the city and county moving outward at relatively low density • entry of greater numbers of women into the work force • state and federal policies encouraging automobile use over alternatives • an ever-expanding road network • inexpensive oil supplies |
§ VIII Cmt 13-7 | congestion |
| The discussion of Circulation Element policies here does not seem objective, but rather expresses a disagreement with the policies of the draft General Plan. The adverse impact which is supposedly identified is based on the assumption that the policies of the circulation element will not work. If the policies do work, then clearly the impact will be beneficial on the environment. The comments on this page do not appear to be an analysis of environmental impacts of the draft General Plan, but rather a critique of the feasibility of the policies being implemented. | § VIII Cmt 5-36 | transit walk/bike TSM |
| The General Plan EIR states “Because little is known about large scale application and success of transportation alternatives, the General Plan defers the development of an integrated transportation plan.” I think an integrated transportation plan should be developed now. The street improvements outlined make no sense to me when we are not doing all we can to specifically move to alternative means of transportation. | § VIII Cmt 8-2 | Strategy transit walk/bike TSM |
| Discussion of the Mima Mounds - Coastal Prairie Areas does not expain whyt it is included as a unique, rare, or endanged habitat. Discussion within the General Plan text has indicated that grazing and exotic grasses have reduced the native bunch grasses in these areas, but does not indicate the value or necessity of protecting this resource(?). The discussion needs more throrough analysis to support the conclusions presented: no mitigation analysis was required. The assertion that this plant community is locally rare is patently absurd for a mature city: habitat protection would have to consider coastal terraces from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay to justify the threat to this habitat. | § VIII Cmt 9-1 | environ- ment |
| A reference to a potential decrease in enrollment has been included in the EIR as well as reference to two City policies. There is, however, no basis for a reduced enrollment alternative. |
§ VIII Resp to Cmt 13-15 | congestion UCSC |
| The statement is the author’s conclusion following consideration of the matter. As factual matters, City traffic has increased 3.92%/y between ‘74 and ‘86. The ‘90 Regional Transportation Plan calculated a 12.1% non-auto mode of travel (as of ‘85). The ‘90 Census data indicate that fewer commuters use non-auto modes in ‘90 (15.2%) than did in ‘80 (16.4%). This trend existed in the face of a 1980 General Plan goal of attaining 30% of all trips in non-auto modes by ‘90. The new General Plan is based on the premise that the traffic and circulation policies will be implemented and work to the degree expected. The EIR states that the climate and push toward trip reduction is better and stronger. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that the Circulation Element policy will be very difficult to achieve and requre major efforts, and to acknowledge that trip reductions of the magnitude expected will not be a short term proposition. | § VIII Resp to Cmt 5-36, 13-7, 13-13 | congestion transit walk/bike TSM |
| The 1990 Regional Transportation Plan calculated a 12.1% non-auto mode of travel (this estimate was for 1985). Census data indicate that fewer commuters use non-auto modes in 1990 (15.2%) than did in 1980 (16.4%). This trend existed in the face of a 1980 General Plan goal of attaining 30% of all trips in non-auto modes by 1990. | § VIII Resp to Cmt 5- 37 | transit walk/bike TSM |
| An integrated circulation plan is proposed to be prepared by the end of ‘93; the selection of street improvements is a policy decision. | § VIII Resp to Cmt 8-2 | Strategy transit walk/bike TSM |
| The author stands by the EIR conclusion. The EIR intends to say that historic patterns and trends in transportation have relied on the automobile, and that it will be difficult to alter automobile use patterns, especially since it will involve behavioral changes. Data support this past automobile use pattern, although data need not be a determinant of what the future will bring. By virtue of their inclusion in the General Plan, the no-net-increase-in-trips policies are operative in the City. It simply needs to be recognized that without aggressive implementation of these policies, trip reductions will be problematic. The EIR states that the climate for success of these policies is better now than it has been in the past. Also see response to Cmt 5-36. | § VIII Response to Cmt 13-13, 13-14 | transit walk/bike TSM |
| The General Plan’s point of departure is to deal realistically with the [internal resource requirements and] outside forces which impact the Santa Cruz community, and address them in ways which maintain community values [of environmental and social responsibility]. | SC 1990 GP EIR (paraphrase) | selection criteria |
Sources of Comments included in SC 1990 GP EIR § VIII
| SC 1990 GP EIR § VIII Comments | Commenter |
| 5-n | Celia Scott |
| 8-n | Deborah A. Malkin |
| 9-n | E. Davidson |
| 13-n | Jeff Ringold |
| 16-n | G. Norquist |
| 17-n | E. Davidson |