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Ms. Lindy Chan, Principal Planner City of Redwood City, Planning Services August 9, 2019 Page 3 drop-off and pick up hours. (See, Journal of Planning Education and Research, "Planning for Safe Schools: Impacts of School Siting and Surrounding Environments on Traffic Safety," November 2015, Chia -Yuan Yu and Xuemei Zhu, pg. 8 [Study of traffic accidents near Austin, Texas schools found that "[a] higher percentage of commercial uses was associated with more motorist and pedestrian crashes" around schools].) As discussed, the District's Sequoia High School is located just northwest of the Project's site. The Project site's neighborhood, which is located on the periphery of the City's downtown core, is one of the most heavily traversed areas in Redwood City. According to the City's General Plan, El Camino Real (State Route 82), off of which both the Sequoia High School and the Project sites are located, is one of the few major boulevards in the City, and serves as a regional route connecting San Jose and San Francisco.' El Camino Real already suffers from substantial vehicular congestion, which produces noise, exhaust fumes, and pollution.2 Further, a trend currently exists where commuters along El Camino Real seek less -congested travel paths in the residential neighborhoods to the north and south of the boulevard, resulting in speeding and dangerous traffic conditions in those neighborhoods, including those residential neighborhoods surrounding the Sequoia High School.3 Acknowledging these issues, the City's General Plan provides that El Camino Real "will be updated to facilitate walkable linkages between Sequoia High School, the transportation center at the Caltrain Station, and Downtown Redwood City."4 The Project site is also located in an area that has experienced a drastic impact in traffic over the last ten to fifteen years as the City has continued to approve of newer commercial, office, and residential land uses. Adding to the District's concerns regarding traffic surrounding the Project site and the Sequoia High School are the number of development projects that have recently been approved by the City and/or completed in the area, including the 1305 El Camino Real project (137 multi -family residential units); the 1548 Maple Street project (131 three-story townhome residential units); the Broadway Plaza project (mixed-use project consisting of approximately 520 residential units, 420,000 sf of office space; and 26,000 sf of retail space). There are several other projects that are being considered by the City, including the 150 Charter Street project (72 residential units), and the 1125 Arguello Street project (68 townhomes), all of which promise to drastically increase traffic in the neighborhood and District. Given the magnitude of development being considered and approved in this area, the District maintains that the limited EIR being proposed by the City is inappropriate and in conflict with the letter and spirit of CEQA. The existing congestion of the Project site's neighborhood, combined with all of the various projects located within the vicinity of the Sequoia High School, threaten to have significant impacts, both individually and cumulatively, on the students attending the High School, as well I Redwood City General Plan (October 11, 2010), p. BE -25 2 Id. at Figure BE -14; pp. BE -106 and BE -131. 3 Id. at p. BE -134. 'Redwood City General Plan (October 11, 2010), p. BE -25