Reso PC16-23 PC 0116 Reso CEQA - Sandpiper

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Section 4.0 — Envirownentol Setting and Discussion of 1m.oacts Under the proposed project, Sandpiper Elementary School would provide a total of 45 parking spaces and, therefore, would meet the City's parking requirement. In addition, the school would continue to utilize the community center parking lot per the joint use agreement between the City and the District, Under the proposed project, the number of spaces in the community center parking lot would be increased to 55 spaces. 4.16.3.5 Site Access and On Site Circulation (Checklist Question 1) As shown on the site plan (refer to Figure 3.2-1), the project proposes the following on-site circulation improvements: The eastern driveway currently has one inbound and one outbound lane. Under the proposed project, the eastern driveway would be a one-way entrance with one inbound lane. The western driveway currently has one inbound and one outbound lane. Under the proposed project, the western driveway would be a one-way exit with one outbound lane. The parking aisle between the school driveways currently has one castbound lane. Under the proposed project, the parking aisle would be one-way and striped with two westbound lanes. Drop -Off and Pick -Up Operations Drop-off and pick-up operations were observed at Sandpiper Elementary School in spring 2016. During the AM peak hour of school traffic, the school drop-off queue backed onto Redwood Shores Parkway during the two -minute period just before school started. Redwood Shores Parkway includes a dedicated right -turn lane for the elementary school entrance approximately 300 feet in length. Overall, drop-off operations at Sandpiper Elementary School were adequate, except during the two - minute period just before school started. Prior to school dismissal, the loading area as well as the parking lots were fully parked. Several vehicles were observed circling the parking lot. No significant on-site circulation issues or queuing at nearby intersections were observed prior to and during school dismissal. Under the proposed project including fulfillment of existing unmet school capacity, an additional 286 (156 in and 130 out) and 195 (93 in and 102 out) vehicles would enter/exit Sandpiper Elementary School during the AM and PM peak hours, respectively. This is an approximately 57 percent increase over existing conditions. Although the on-site circulation improvements listed above would help offset the additional traffic, it is expected that the increase in traffic under the proposed project during the AM peak hour would lengthen queues on-site, which could potentially result in longer queues off-site at the eastbound left -turn pocket and the westbound right -turn pocket serving the project site. The queuing that could occur in the project area under the proposed project would not be substantial and would not create a safety hazard, This is because the queues would usually be contained on-site, the 300 -foot dedicated right turn lane for the school driveway would accommodate westbound queues, and the left turn pocket would usually contain eastbound queues. While it is possible that queues could exceed the capacity of the left turn pocket by one or two cars during the few minutes before school starts, eastbound traffic volumes on Redwood Shores Parkway in the project area City of Redwood City 97 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Sandpiper Elementary School Facilities Expansion November 2016