AgdaPkt 2000-12-18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7. � - AS changes and therefore these changes are not considered in the EIR analysis. 30. With regard to the contention that the cumulative traffic impact on emergency response was not considered, on pages 199-201 of the Draft EIR the discussion of cumulative traffic impacts and the effect on emergency response time points out that due to the close proximity of finro fire stations (one within 2.5 to 3 minutes from the � project site and the other within 4 to 4.5 minutes), along with multiple access routes into the downtown area and normal traffic preemption for emergencies, no adverse . impacts on the Fire Department's ability to respond were identified. 31.Additionally, on page 68 of the FEIR, the response to a comment (Paul Mendelowitz) it is noted that delays at the intersections with the least satisfactory operations would not impede the department's ability to respond to emergency calls. 32. With regard to the contention raised by a member of the public at the hearing on this appeal that the effect of the railroad crossings were not taken into consideration in the traffic analysis of the EIR, the effect on traffic flow caused by the railroad crossing gate movements is an inherent part of the EIR traffic analysis. In conducting the traffic surveys to determine the existing traffic conditions, many factors affect the intersection levels of service including traffic stoppage at railroad crossings, driver behavior, signal timing, time of day, etc. The EIR traffic analysis analyzes the effects the project will have on the existing traffic condition and, where feasible, recommends mitigation measures to mitigate those project impacts. Traffic conditions at the railroad crossings intersections are part of the existing traffic pattern which served as the baseline for traffic analysis in the DEIR and FEIR. A separate analysis of the railroad crossings would not be necessary since anytime a railroad-crossing gate is down, the traffic at that crossing is blocked until such time as the gate is up. Moreover, as was stated at the November 13, 2000 appeal hearing, at the times projected to have the most traffic connected with the proposed Cineplex (evenings and particularly weekend evenings), the commute tra�c on the railroad trains is almost nil and the number of times that trains impact the railroad crossings is significantly reduced. The Broadway / EI Camino Real and Broadway / Winslow Street intersections were both studied in the environmental studies and are located west and east of the at-grade Broadway-Marshall railroad crossing, respectively. Even with periodic train blockages, the intersections are shown to operate at acceptable levels when evaluated for the entire PM peak hour (Table 14). Under cumulative traffic conditions, the Broadway / EI Camino intersection is anticipated to operate at unacceptable levels and appropriate mitigation (Measure B7) is identified in the environmental study to address the project's contribution. The project's location would minimize at-grade crossings because of its proximity to the Jefferson Avenue grade-separated railroad crossing. 7