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<br />Saltworks Proposal- Transportation Group Summary Report (22 January 2010) <br /> <br />7A - ATTACHMENT NO.4 <br />Page 3 <br /> <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> <br />This report presents a preliminary analysis of the transportation and circulation components of the Saltworks <br />SO/50 Balanced Plan (proposal) submitted by OMB Redwood City Saltworks (OMB). This report was prepared by <br />Fehr & Peers with assistance from Shiels Obletz Johnsen. The transportation team was retained by Hart <br />Howerton, Ltd. pursuant to its September 2009 contract with the City of Redwood City (City). The purpose of the <br />evaluation is to determine if the OMB SO/50 Balanced Plan application contained any fundamentally <br />insurmountable issues that would preclude the continued processing of the development proposal for the <br />proposed circulation and transportation elements, including the preparation of a California Environmental Quality <br />Act (CEQA) analysis. This report concludes that no such fundamentally insurmountable issues exist. The <br />evaluation focuses on the following three areas: <br /> <br />A.) Whether the plan's proposed transportation facilities could feasibly accommodate the on-site <br />(or internal) traffic, pedestrian, bicycling, and transit needs of the residents, employees, and <br />visitors; <br /> <br />B.) Whether the plan's proposed transportation facilities provide sufficient and feasible <br />connections to the surrounding transportation system; and <br /> <br />C.) An assessment of the general effects that the project would have on the surrounding <br />local/regional regional transportation network. <br /> <br />The preliminary analysis focused on the content and adequacy of the application and did not involve performing <br />detailed analysis and modeling of project specific impacts to the transportation system. The proposed Saltworks <br />project development scale and extensive transportation components cannot be evaluated with simple analysis <br />tools and current transportation models. Instead, a travel demand forecasting model that can capture the regional <br />and local changes in travel patterns, estimate transit ridership, and account for potential shifts to alternative <br />modes of travel is needed. There are two existing models that could be used for the CEQA analysis, however, <br />neither of these models currently include the necessary features to produce forecasts for this type and size of <br />development proposal. Therefore, the preliminary analysis is based on planning estimates of trips generated by <br />the project and a review of submitted plans and supporting materials. A CEQA analysis would have the capacity <br />to generate a model that could accurately assess the proposed application with enough depth to identify potential <br />impacts on a local and regional level. <br /> <br />CRUCIAL ISSUES <br /> <br />The Saltworks project transportation plan includes a multimodal on-site transportation system, connections to the <br />adjacent local and regional transportation systems, transit, and transportation demand and parking management <br />programs. The SO/50 Balanced Plan responds to many of the stated Goals and Policies of the City of Redwood <br />City that are included in the City's new Oraft General Plan (November, 2009). However, there are several crucial <br />transportation and circulation issues. The following transportation and circulation issues are the most critical <br />issues that would need to be addressed by the City in further processing of the application and evaluation during <br />a CEQA analysis: <br />