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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCanyon Springs DEIR Public Comment #21 (Ketron)v; ' FVO February 25, 2013 PsIon �s Town of Truckee, Town Administrative Center Senior Planner 10183 Truckee Airport Road Truckee, CA 96161 Attenion: Denyelle Nishimori, AICP RE: Comments on Canyon Springs Subdivision Draft EIR Dear Denyelle, I have attended two Canyon Springs Subdivision DEIR meetings at the Truckee City Council Chamber and have reviewed a portion of the DEIR, specifically the Traffic portions. Below is a list of topics, 1 through 18, which I believe are omissions in the Traffic portion of the DEIR (Section 4.14 and the Traffic Appendix) . I believe analysis of these omissions must be made and the results included with the draft before it is considered a final and inclusive Environmental Impact Report for the Canyon Springs Project. Please excuse errors I have made due to my inability to locate information within the DEIR or concerns /omissions I have mentioned which are redundant with other comments you may have already received. 1) The speed limit on Glenshire Drive between Whitehorse Road and Hirschdale Road is missing from the report. It is noted in the report, however, that the speed limit is not posted. When a speed limit is not posted in rural areas the speed limit is 55 miles per hour. Any mention of west -bound traffic stopping distance or line of sight distance at the intersection of Whitehorse and Glenshire Drive within the DEIR is therefore unsubstantiated unless the speed at which that traffic is moving is specifically mentioned or until further study can specifically be made at west- bound speeds of 55 miles per hour. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until this information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 2) Throughout several seasons of the year, deer cross Glenshire Drive between Whitehorse and Hirschdale. There are even homemade signs which warn drivers of this. The DEIR has omitted any mention of this in the traffic study. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the consequences of additional traffic traveling on Glenshire Drive between Whitehorse and Hirschdale vs. the local deer crossings has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 3) The traffic appendix lists data which shows the accident rate along Glenshire Drive from Whitehorse to Hirschdale is higher than the norm. Most likely, additional traffic will increase the number of accidents. What are the mitigation steps required? The only mention of this in the DEIR or the appendix is to set aside monies for additional study and perhaps add a guardrail. To simply say that a study will happen later and that a randomly - picked amount of money ($50K) will pay for it and its safety suggestions does not guarantee a solution at all. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 4) Additional traffic traveling along Glenshire Drive will affect bicyclists traveling along the same road. We heard this from a bicyclist at the last DEIR meeting. This study has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 5) Additional traffic traveling along Glenshire Drive will have an affect upon pedestrians walking along portions of Glenshire Drive. This effect is compounded since there are no sidewalks and often little shoulder space. The condition is made worse during snowy times when there is no road shoulder at all to walk on. This study has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 6) The S -Bend portion of Glenshire Drive near the intersection of Old Highway 40 (leads to the SF flyfishing club) is steep, insufficiently banked for slippery conditions, and can be very hazardous in the winter. Several accidents have taken place here. There is no mention of these accidents or the additional accidents which are projected to take place at this location with the increase of traffic on Glenshire Drive. This study has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 7) The intersection of Highland Drive and Glenshire Drive has not been addressed in the report. What is the wait time for vehicles leaving Highland Drive and traveling west or east along Glenshire Drive. How will this wait -time increase if traffic volume increases? What is the wait -time for east -bound cars traveling along Glenshire Drive waiting for a vehicle to turn left onto Highland Drive? This study has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 8) The intersection of Olympic Blvd and Glenshire Drive has not been addressed in the report. What is the wait time for vehicles leaving Olympic Blvd and traveling west or east along Glenshire Drive. How will this wait -time increase if traffic volume increases? What is the wait -time for east -bound cars traveling along Glenshire Drive waiting for a vehicle to turn left onto Olympic Blvd Drive? This study has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 9) The mitigation plan for the additional left turn lane on Donner Pass road (CIR P6.3) is only a partial solution to help the flow of West -bound traffic leaving Glenshire Drive and entering Donner Pass road. It might offer a little help to traffic entering Donner Pass road while Donner Pass Road .West -Bound Traffic is coming down the hill BUT only if that down -hill traffic is NOT trying to turn left onto Glenshire Drive. This wait -time condition already exists under current traffic conditions. The proposed mitigation does nothing to solve the Glenshire Drive traffic (either entering or leaving) wait -time while Donner Pass East -Bound Traffic is coming up the hill. This wait -time also already exists. The new lane configuration may also adversely affect East -Bound Traffic trying to exit Keiser Street. The DEIR makes little mention of this Traffic study, only to say that this is an acceptable mitigation measure for approximately half the build -out of Canyon Springs. How is it acceptable? The DEIR does not provide any back -up for this statement in any way. On the contrary, I find this unacceptable until a more informative study is completed with substantiated data, perhaps by an independent third party traffic study firm. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 10) The mitigation plan for the additional left turn lane on Donner Pass road (CIR P6.3) is based upon adding painted lines to delineate the turn-out lane. During snow conditions, paint marks cannot be seen on streets. Therefore during many days of the year, this mitigation measure will not even exist at all —in some of the most critical driving conditions! The effect of residual snow upon the painted lines has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 11) According to Town of Truckee standards, the Traffic Study is using data from the 10"' highest Summer PM Peak period. This does not take winter driving conditions into effect at all. It does not take the time differences made by snowy conditions into account. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 12) According to information in the traffic appendix, the traffic study was performed in 2009. Numbers were adjusted to 2011 levels to allow for growth. This is all conjecture. Until a timely (current) traffic study is performed for all areas listed in the DEIR, not simply 3 intersections as mentioned in the appendix, the numbers will continue to simply be 2009 numbers. Should the project be approved and move forward to construction, the traffic numbers will be entirely inaccurate. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until a more up -to -date and comprehensive traffic analysis has been completed, its information compiled, and included in the DEIR. 13) According to Town of Truckee standards, the Traffic Study is using data from the I 01 highest Summer PM Peak. It does not take school -bound traffic for vehicles traveling to the high school, the middle school, and the various charter schools. Most of Glenshire is comprised of full -time residents and school -bound traffic exiting Glenshire in the AM and re- entering Glenshire in the afternoon should be counted and included. This includes school busses as well as personal vehicles. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 14) During school days, School buses travel along Glenshire Drive. Per law, when a School bus stops, no vehicle may travel past the bus, in either direction. The more cars traveling along Glenshire Drive, the longer the line of cars waiting for the bus. This affects the wait -time and /or travel for many cars. For instance, an east -bound bus that stops on Glenshire Drive near the corner of the Strand effectively blocks traffic east -bound and west -bound on Glenshire Drive as well as all traffic exiting The Strand and waiting to turn West onto Glenshire Drive. In addition, this traffic also blocks a number of driveways (approximately 7) under current traffic conditions. The additional traffic and the additional School buses required for the Canyon Springs Project will increase this wait - effect. This study has been omitted from the DEIR. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 15) The width of Edinburgh Dr, Regency Circle, Courtenay Lane, etc, is not mentioned in the alternative report. It is noted as 26 feet in the Appendix. With parked cars (perhaps one on each side of the street) how will additional traffic on these roads, should the alternative plan be used) affect travel on these roads? How will the intersections be affected? Will it affect pedestrians on these roads? Will it affect bicyclists on these roads? Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. . 16) The DEIR makes the assumption that a certain portion of vehicles leaving Martis Road or Whitehorse road would take the freeway to town, rather than Glenshire- West. It notes that some drivers, such as the elderly, would choose to drive along Glenshire rather than take the freeway. While this is great guesswork, there is no data to support any of this conjecture. Where is the study from existing traffic and age -of- driver data from Whitehorse or Martis Peak? What happens when the roads are icy? How many drivers will choose to take the less -steep Glenshire - West rather than the very steep Glenshire- to- Hirschdale? How many drivers which to avoid the chain control happening at the bug station? None of this data has been provided in the report. Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 17) The current state of Glenshire Drive between the Glenshire Bridge and Donner Pass road is in very poor condition. The ruts from heavy vehicular traffic are almost constantly visible and sufficiently deep in many areas to create very hazardous conditions in rain, snow, or icy conditions. Several cracks and even potholes exist, despite numerous repairs already made west of Olympic Blvd. The flat cutting edges of the plow blades do not have the ability to reach the bottoms of these ruts, leaving a layer of snow which quickly compacts to ice. When this ice melts, or when it rains, the potential for hydroplaning is evident. The construction traffic, noted as 388 one -way trips a day will have an even more adverse affect upon this portion of roadway, especially given that many of the vehicles will be heavy, loaded with concrete or other construction materials. There is no mention of any mitigation for this in the report. What additional damage, to an already bad road, will be the direct result of construction traffic and additional residence traffic on Glenshire Drive and what portion of the cost for repair should be paid by the project? Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, should not be considered accurate or complete until the additional safety study information has been compiled and included in the DEIR. 18) The DEIR mentions the new intersection proposed on Glenshire Drive that will direct traffic to the proposed rail yard project. Given that the rail yard project is only a proposal at this point, and the roads within this proposed rail yard project have not yet been designed (specifically how to get traffic to and from the Bridge Street /Donner Pass Road intersection) studies at this point are only best "guestimates." Section 4.14 of the DEIR, Transportation and Traffic, migigation measures should not be considered accurate or complete unless specific approved plans for the Railyard Project exists before mitigations plans which rely upon such a project are considered acceptable within the DEIR. Thank you for reviewing the DEIR and allowing time for public comment. Sincere, Mike Ketron 15257 Glenshire Drive Truckee, CA 96161