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10/11/2010 Attachment 1.A proposed, the New General Plan would establish and implement numerous policies and programs designed to promote alternative modes of transportation, emphasizing pedestrian and bicycle travel and encouraging the use of public transit, and to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled within and by residents of the City. A summary of these policies and programs is provided at pages 4.14- 35 through 4.14 -57 of the DEIR. By encouraging and promoting alternative modes of transportation, these policies and programs are expected to reduce the number of vehicle trips in the City, thereby reducing traffic volumes on City streets and reducing the severity of this impact. However, this anticipated reduction in vehicle trips is not expected to improve levels -of- service on City streets to meet the LOS standards that the City has used in the past to assess the significance of traffic impacts for purposes of CEQA analyses. Consequently, even after implementation of these alternative transportation policies and programs, this impact would remain significant based on these LOS standards. The severity of this impact could be reduced to less- than - significant levels by constructing various physical improvements to the City's street network. These improvements would primarily involve widening streets and increasing the numbers of traffic lanes in various locations to increase the capacity of streets and improve traffic flow. However, the effects of these improvements (wider streets, increased motor vehicle capacity and faster traffic flows) would obstruct or impair the City's efforts to promote and facilitate alternative modes of transportation in the City through its alternative transportation policies and programs, by slowing motor vehicle traffic, encouraging greater use of public transit, and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Because physical infrastructure improvements designed to improve traffic levels -of- service on the City's streets would conflict with the goals of the City's alternative transportation policies, such improvements are considered infeasible. Other than the alternative transportation policies embodied in the proposed New General Plan, and physical improvements to the City's street network, there are no other feasible measures that would mitigate the New General Plan's impacts relating to degraded traffic levels -of- service, and this impact is considered significant and unavoidable. (ii) Remaining Impacts. Because there are no feasible mitigation measures available to mitigate the significant impact identified above, this impact is considered significant and unavoidable. (iii) Overriding Considerations. The environmental, social, economic and other benefits of the New General Plan override the significant adverse impacts of the New General Plan relating to increased traffic described above, as set forth in the Statement of Overriding Considerations below. ATTY /RESO /RESO.2055 /ATTACHMENT1.A 25 #15059 10/13/10 MUFF # 601