HomeMy Public PortalAboutCanyon Springs DEIR Public Comment #59 (Urie)Date: March 2, 2013
To Denyelle Nishimori, Senior Planner
10183 Truckee Airport Road
Truckee, CA 96161
Re: Comments for Canyon Springs DEIR
Dear Denyelle,
MA
I
The following are comments and concerns regarding the adequacy of the DEIR for the
proposed Canyon Springs housing development. The largest impact to the Glenshire and
the whole Truckee area would be related to the overall increased traffic due to the high
density housing developments as proposed in the Canyon Springs DEIR.
Traffic: The DEIR does not address the safety of pedestrians for the Alternative that
would allow Edinburg Drive to become a fulltime access to Canyon Springs. My
concern is that there are no sidewalks for pedestrians and no room to build them along the
roadways. The DEIR has not analyzed the effect that the volume of traffic would pose at
the many smaller intersections that have limited sight distances such as Regency Circle,
Belford place, Becket Place, Hastings Heights and Courtenay that are not designed for
high traffic levels. The DEIR does state that.
"The increase in traffic on the local roadways from Somerset Drive to Edinburgh Drive as a
result of the proposed project was evaluated. The proposed project is not expected to impact
the traffic volumes on these local roadway segments, given that the Edinburgh access point
would be gated for emergency access only. Therefore, the proposed project meets the adopted
standard for impacts to local residential roadways."
Therefore, I suggest that the Alternative that would allow Edinburgh Drive to become a fulltime
access be rejected.
Traffic: The DEIR also did not take into consideration the cumulative impacts of the
added traffic resulting from the Canyon Springs subdivision on Glenshire Drive and the
other major intersections such as those that connect to Olympic Heights and the
downtown core. The recommendation #1 (to have a double left turn lane from Glenshire
Drive onto Donner Pass Road) needs more study because there was no mention of the
perennial water course of Trout Creek that closely parallels Glenshire Drive at that
intersection. This portion of Trout Creek has been recently reclaimed, revegetated and
improved. It does not look like there would be enough room for widening of the
Glenshire Drive piece of that intersection without rerouting Trout Creek. (ES -3
Appendix 1)
Traffic: The volume of traffic that would use the portion of Glenshire Drive down to
Hirschdale Drive is also of high concern because of the limited sight distance of the
intersection of Martis Peak Road and Glenshire Drive. This portion of Glenshire Drive is
a winding road that has been described as having a higher than normal rate of accidents
even before development and the added trips that would number more than 1,000 per day.
(ES -1 Appendix 1). As stated this can be mitigated to a certain extent, but there is a
question about what mitigations would be effective for the high traffic volumes. This still
needs more study because it does not make sense to accept an increased level of traffic on
a piece of road that is already showing signs of overuse.
Land Use and General Plam< The Canyon Springs Development is being proposed as a
high density development outside of the area that has been already developed in such a
manner. This development represents a sprawling development and is not clustered. The
project development should more closely match the "Rural Clusters" as noted in the
General Plan (Table LU -7, 2 -62).
The size, density and location of Canyon Springs would create traffic problems that
would add to the degradation of the quality of life in Truckee to which we have become
accustom. The added traffic delays will make this area feel more like the larger cities
that we have all chosen to avoid.
We think that the cumulative effects of having several proposed development properties
in the area should also be better analyzed in terms of economics and added traffic. The
fact that many lots have been approved, have not been sold and built out should also be
considered.
Thank you for the opportunity to communicate our concerns regarding the DEIR for
Canyon Springs. Please feel free to contact us with questions regarding our comments
that address the adequacy of the DEIR.
Sincerely,
Gene and Susan Urie
P.O. Box 2338
Truckee, CA 96160
gsurie @usamedia.ty