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The
Regents Road bridge would provide a parallel N/S route to draw some
traffic from Genesee Avenue, thereby lightening its load. However,
traffic studies have consistently shown the bridge to be a poor
congestion reliever for Genesee. For this and several other reasons,
the bridge is an inferior alternative.
It is hugely expensive,
yet it will leave us with inadequate
service levels on Genesee Avenue.
It
is not hard to see why the bridge
would do little to relieve Genesee Avenue traffic.
Congestion on Genesee Avenue between Nobel Drive and SR-52 is a
peak hour phenomenon, due to commuters traveling to (northbound,
AM) and from (southbound, PM) North University City. The big "trip
generators" in North UC are the business and commercial sites
along (or east of) Genesee Avenue: UTC, Costa Verde, Eastgate, Renaissance,
etc. Regents Road is overwhelmingly dominated by residences.
Thus, the bridge would result in inefficient
traffic patterns.
During
PM peak, commuters traveling southbound on Genesee Avenue are largely
headed to the south and southeast. Many use Genesee as a bypass
for the severely congested Interstate 805. (The ramp metering at
Nobel Drive and I-805 makes getting on the freeway a very slow ordeal.)
Regents Road is in the wrong direction (west) for these travelers.
While the bridge would draw some traffic from Genesee, the 2004
DEIR traffic study shows that the
net effect would be to draw, at best, some 9,000 trips
per day (ADT) from Genesee, and 15,000 ADT from the freeways. It
would provide weak relief for Genesee Avenue.
In
1995, a Citizens’ Advisory Committee, convened under councilmember
Harry Mathis, voted 12-3 to proceed with the Genesee Ave widening
but to hold off on the Regents Rd bridge. The committee was
largely influenced by the results of a recent (1994) traffic
study, and by the recommendation of the city’s traffic
engineer, Frank Belock. Mr. Belock’s report stated,
“Widening
Genesee Avenue to 6 lanes without Regents Road Bridge would
bring the level of service to D at Genesee Avenue with 51,000
trips in the year 2015, as well as create a level of service
D or better throughout the area. The widening is in accordance
to the community plan and would alleviate present traffic
conditions.”
“The
construction of Regents Road Bridge without the widening
of Genesee Avenue would provide the community with a traffic
pattern that is somewhat constrained. The level of service
on Genesee would be E which is below the project goal.”
“The
one alternative that best fits the community needs and resources
is Alternative 2, widening Genesee Avenue at this time and
deferring the bridge to a later date. This alternative would
address traffic conditions and would accommodate future
growth in the area by assuring a Level-of-Service D.
Little
has changed between 1995 and 2004 vis-à-vis the relative
efficacy of these two projects. The 2004 DEIR traffic study
found, as in 1994, that the bridge alone would be insufficient
to provide an acceptable level of service along Genesee. Even
with the bridge, congestion along Genesee Avenue would be worse
in the future than it is today! By contrast, the widening alone
would achieve acceptable service levels on virtually all road
segments within the study area.
The
bridge is a hugely expensive project. Recently costed at $28.7
million by the city, it is by far the most expensive of the
three structural projects under consideration. Given its feeble
congestion relief, the cost/benefit ratio for this project is
staggering, and much greater than that for comparable projects
such as the Genesee Avenue widening.
The
bridge would bring 25,000 trips per day through Rose Canyon
Open Space Park, and directly past Doyle
Elementary School and Doyle Park and Recreation
Center. In South University City, Regents Road bisects the residence
area for Spreckels Magnet Elementary School.
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