HomeMy WebLinkAboutSan Luis Ranch DEIR Public Comment received 1-30-2017 (A. Smith) Meeting:
From: Andrew Smith < Item: Ups h �i1 RECEIVED
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2017 1:41 PM CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
To: Advisory Bodies
Subject: San Luis Ranch Draft EIR Comments JAN 3 0 2017
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Dear Planning Commission Members,
My name is Andrew Smith and I have been a resident of San Luis Obispo since 2002. I graduated from Cal
Poly and have been fortunate enough to find work here, buy a house here and have a child here. We currently live at
the corner of Oceanaire Drive and Seaward Street. I work across town, off of Industrial Way. I commute by bike as
often as possible by choice and commuted for years by bike to a previous job in Los Osos. I feel that my chosen
transportation method allows me a slightly different view of our roads as opposed to the average automotive
commuter.
Traffic is already an issue on all roads that are to be impacted by this project. Southbound 101 often is a
parking lot from the Madonna over pass through Pismo Beach. Los Osos Valley Road recently underwent a major
upgrade to increase the overpass over 101 from one lane to two in each direction. Madonna Road is often a parking
lot from Los Osos Valley Road back to Highway 101. All of these areas are identified in the Draft EIRs for BOTH
the San Luis Ranch and Avila Ranch developments. Adding all these homes will impact traffic. As a resident I am
worried by the Draft EIR.
On page 1 of Section 4.12, concerning transportation, Madonna Road is not even mentioned. In addition, the
Traffic Impact Study cited is listed as Appendix K, which is incorrect. It is Appendix L. As a practicing mechanical
engineer, small errors like these greatly concern me as they point towards larger issues or even negligence. Madonna
Road is one of two roads that directly border the proposed development. Currently the intersection of Madonna Road
and Oceanaire Drive is severely impacted with afternoon traffic regularly backed up to Dalidio Drive, the other road
that borders this development. In the Traffic Impact Study used as source material, this intersection (Madonna and
Oceanaire) is said to have a 14.2 second delay during PM peak hours. This compares to 56.2 seconds at Madonna and
Dalidio and 45 seconds at Madonna and Los Osos Valley roads. These numbers are all existing conditions during
peak PM hours. As a daily commuter this does not reconcile with my experience; the intersection of Madonna and
Oceanaire is a significantly longer delay than the intersection of Madonna and Dalidio. To directly quote from page
35 of the Transportation Impact Study: "...most of the segments are currently operating at deficient LOS for
pedestrian and transit modes, as well as several segments for automobile mode... a reduction in traffic volume is
often the only way to theoretically achieve exceptional LOS scores for these modes."
As stated in the Draft EIR, the mitigation for traffic at this intersection would be to construct the Prado Road
overpass. This would not impact vehicle traffic heading to or from CL Smith Elementary or Laguna Middle
schools. This would not reduce vehicle traffic to or from Los Osos Valley road if the individuals are heading
northbound. The Traffic Impact Study uses a traffic analysis program to study traffic. I am trained and regularly use
analysis programs as part of my job and realize they cannot necessarily be taken as absolutely correct. Rather they are
much like the weather forecast, which is also the result of an analysis program. Slightly incorrect inputs or parameters
can have massive effects on the outcome. We cannot know with any certainty where the hundreds of families that
would move into this development would drive and when.
I would like to propose having the EIR study the effects of eliminating the access from the Madonna frontage
road to the Madonna and Oceanaire interchange. Currently the intersection is a 6 way intersection that defaults to a
timed mode (as opposed to a `smart' mode) during peak traffic hours. This means that even though there may be no
traffic waiting to merge from one direction, the light will still turn green for that direction for a period of time. If the
intersection was to be changed to a 4 way light (traffic on Oceanaire and Madonna only) it could potentially reduce
the cycle time. The traffic currently accessing through the frontage roads would be forced to go through the adjoining
neighborhoods to reach Oceanaire, but these are only a few homes and it is only an additional block. The change
would be easy to accomplish with a vehicle block at the current ingress/egress locations. Other more creative
mitigation efforts could (and should) include a pedestrian overcrossing of Madonna Road in order for Elementary and
Middle school children to safely walk/cycle to school and for residents to access Laguna Lake park. This
overcrossing could also allow bikes access from the Bob Jones trail off Los Osos Valley Road to the Madonna Inn
bike path if done correctly.
In closing I would like to say that I understand the want to build more housing and I feel that this is a good
location to do it. I do however feel that the traffic impacts seem to be brushed aside, especially when taking the long
view and realizing other developments are necessarily coming (some simultaneously, as Avila Ranch). The traffic can
and will only become worse, so please plan ahead and not just `plug the dam with our finger'. There is tremendous
profit to be had in these types of developments, let's make sure as a community we also profit from the development,
and not just monetarily. Let's make sure the developer is not allowed to put us at a disadvantage in the long term for a
short term gain.
Thank you for your time,
Andrew Smith
1102 Seaward St
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405