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��' development. Next, the road corridors (Jefferson Avenue, Middlefield Road, and Broadway) were identified for detailed intersection analyses because they provide direct access befinreen the project site and the regional road system. Select intersections on Veterans Boulevard (provides direct freeway access) and EI Camino Real (provides sub-regional access) were identified for analysis to quantify the character of traffic on these facilities. Last, regional roads in the area such as US 101, Woodside Road, and EI Camino Real were evaluated to address regional traffic concerns raised by the City/County Association of Governments for San Mateo County (C/CAG). 27. CEQA requires that cumulative traffic impacts be addressed through either a list- based or plan-based approach. Redwood City, because it is located in San Mateo County, has access to the regional travel demand model developed by the City/County Association of Governments for San Mateo County. By using this model as the basis for developing traffic projections, the EIR takes into account the total anticipated tra�c load associated with regional development planned to occur in the area as a result of regional employment and household projections maintained by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The regional travel demand model uses the ABAG employment and household projections to generate traffic and distribute it to each of the Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ's) in the model. Subsequent to the traffic distribution, the model assigns traffic volumes to the road network taking into account vehicle speeds, roadway capacity and travel distance. The model always assigns traffic volumes by the "shortest-travel-time" method. As the model assigns traffic to each road, the calculated vehicle speed is reduced, thereby increasing the travel time. As travel times on various links increase, the model accounts for the implications of cumulative traffic congestion on the road system by shifting traffic from more congested road corridors to less congested corridors. The end result forecast takes into consideration the whole traffic load, its relationship to multiple directional movements, and driver behavior in choosing the quickest route. 28.As indicated in the EIR, there will be more traffic congestion in the future. Each of these impacts is identified (Impacts B3, B4, B5, B7, B8 and B9). For some of these traffic impacts, there is no practical mitigation and this was noted in the EIR as significant and unavoidable. For other of the adverse impacts mitigation measures were crafted that reduce what was otherwise a significant change in the Level of Service ("LOS") to less than significant (see, for example, Impact B5 and Mitigation measures B5a & b). The purpose of the EIR is to identify the traffic impacts and define mitigation measures if available. The EIR meets this mandate. 29. The EIR conservatively overstates the cumulative traffic impacts for the downtown area. As indicated in the EIR, many of the road corridors (e.g., EI Camino Real, Woodside Road, US 101) are anticipated to operate at unacceptable levels. This regional effect will cause drivers to adjust their driving behavior (e.g., leave work early, tele-commute, and patronize mixed-use destinations) to avoid the peak hour traffic congestion. Current best practices cannot accurately model these behavior 6 _ ___._ � �_ r . _