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6.0_Chapter 6.0 - AlternativesChapter 6.0 Alternatives Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-1 May 2013 6.0 ALTERNATIVES 6.1 INTRODUCTION During consideration of a project for approval or denial, CEQA requires that alternatives that can lower significant impacts identified for a proposed project be considered. In accordance with State CEQA Guidelines section 15126.6(d), “the EIR shall include sufficient information about each alternative to allow meaningful evaluation, analysis, and comparison with the proposed project.” The State CEQA Guidelines also require EIRs to identify the Environmentally Superior Alternative from among the alternatives (including the proposed Project) evaluated. The Environmentally Superior Alternative is identified in Section 6.4 of this chapter. In developing the alternatives to be addressed in this section, consideration was given to their ability to meet the basic objectives of the Project. These objectives were identified in Chapter 1.0 of this EIR and include provision of “a safe, realistic, efficient, and integrated transportation system to serve the present and future mobility needs of all the residents of Poway” (City 1991a:2). The proposed Project is designed to relieve congestion and improve safety (vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian) and roadway operations on Espola Road to operate within design capacity thresholds. In terms of ADT and LOS, the Project is intended to:  Improve failing segments of Espola Road between Titan Way and Twin Peaks Road to meet design capacity (equivalent of LOS D or C) specified for three-lane facilities in the 2010-amended TME  Improve intersection operations at Espola Road and Twin Peaks in the a.m. peak hour to LOS D  Improve all other intersection operations to levels of service A, B or C (including Espola Road and Durhullen Drive/Golden Sunset Lane, which would be signalized as part of the Project)  Improve roadway safety through incorporation of consistent (and widened) bike lanes and pathways Based on analyses in Chapter 2.0, the Project would have significant effects with regard to the following issues: land use, visual/aesthetics, noise, biological resources, cultural resources and geology/soils. All significant project-specific environmental effects would be mitigated to below a level of significance. The alternatives addressed for this Project include the No Project, the Alternative Location, a series of build alternatives developed for a potential four-lane roadway, and two design alternatives attempting to retain a two-lane configuration. Each of these is discussed in greater detail below. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-2 May 2013 6.2 NO PROJECT ALTERNATIVE 6.2.1 Description of the No Project Alternative A “No Project” alternative discussion is an EIR requirement (State CEQA Guidelines Section 15126.6[e]). The No Project Alternative is included to provide a basis against which the impacts from the build alternatives are compared. The No Project Alternative assumes that no major improvements would be made and no major construction would occur on Espola Road and the associated intersections within the Project area. Ongoing maintenance activities would continue. Existing failures of roadway segments and intersections to meet City design capacity thresholds for roadway operations would continue, and the lack of standardized sidewalks/pathways along certain portions of the road would be retained. The upgrades specified in the Transportation Master Element of the City’s General Plan would not be implemented, and existing adverse conditions would be exacerbated as a result of growth planned for the region in general. As part of the No Project review, Traffic Management Systems (TMS) revisions were evaluated to see if traffic flow could be improved without widening. Types of revisions/measures evaluated for Espola Road include traffic signal coordination along the corridor, re-striping and any other measures that would improve operations without necessarily widening or physically improving the roadway. Along the Project corridor, there are two traffic signals that could be re-timed to provide better progression of vehicular traffic. The two signals are spaced approximately 1.5 miles apart. Although re-timing them to be coordinated could gain some additional vehicle progression efficiency, the additional efficiency gained would not provide enough additional capacity to provide better LOS under the future timeframes. Re-striping Espola Road also is not considered effective due to the limited roadway width available to provide for additional lanes. Transit also is already serving the Espola Road corridor. Therefore, of the limited number of options to revise the existing TMS, none is seen as a practical alternative to the proposed Project. The future traffic volumes are such that non- construction system modifications would not provide for the additional capacity necessary to have acceptable operations and LOS. Roadway capacity and operational and safety deficiencies would not be corrected with the implementation of the No Project Alternative. As a result, this alternative does not meet the objectives of the proposed Project. 6.2.2 Comparison of Effects of the No Project Alternative to the Proposed Project In addition to the failure to attain Project objectives, environmental effects also were evaluated for this alternative. Environmental effects associated with hazardous materials, paleontological resources, population and housing, recreation and agricultural resources would be the same for this alternative as for the proposed Project as analyzed in Chapter 3.0, Effects Found Not to be Significant. All other environmental effects are summarized below. Land Use The proposed Project was analyzed for its potential to divide an existing community and for its consistency with local land use plans and policies and habitat conservation plan. Similar to the Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-3 May 2013 proposed Project, the retention of the existing roadway conditions associated with the No Project Alternative would not introduce a new division to the community. All existing Espola Road crossings would be maintained; however, no upgrades would occur. Proposed street lighting improvements and pedestrian/equestrian/bikeway improvements would not be installed and the potential benefits of improving accessibility in the area would not proceed. As discussed above, the No Project Alternative assumes that existing conditions would be retained and ongoing maintenance activities would continue. The upgrades specified in the TME of the City’s General Plan would not be implemented, and existing adverse conditions would be exacerbated through planned regional population growth. There would not be any improved infrastructure support of the existing land uses (residential and public facilities) in this area of the City. Further, there would be no encouragement to walk or use bicycles, and no new access to existing trails. Consequently, impacts to planned use consistency under the No Project Alternative would be greater than assessed to the proposed Project. The No Project Alternative would be consistent with the City’s applicable Resources Master Element and Poway Subarea HCP. To the extent that open space is currently retained and wildlife/native plants are preserved and protected, these conditions would continue. Visual/Aesthetics This alternative would result in retention of existing aesthetic conditions. No additional roadway improvements would be implemented over what is already in place. The somewhat varied residential conditions would continue to be visible, retaining the overall impression of an area recently in transition from a rural to suburban setting and still somewhat in flux, given continuing residential development (now slowing as tract areas have built out and most new development is limited to individual building or residential improvements). No additional Project-related sound walls would be installed, and loss of existing mature vegetation would not occur in conjunction with the proposed Project. Based on levels of change alone, including the addition of solid surface sound walls and removal of mature vegetation, the No Project Alternative would be preferred for the issue of visual resources. It should be noted, however, that plans for upgrades to roadway utilities and City-signature visual elements (related to walls and landscaping) for this major north-south arterial through the east side of the City would not be realized. Noise With the No Project Alternative, the future year 2030 traffic volume along Espola Road would increase by the same amount as anticipated for the proposed Project. This is due to the expectation that the proposed Project would be traffic accommodating rather than traffic generating. From Twin Peaks Road north to the end of the Project, the future additional traffic volume would result in a less than one dBA CNEL increase as compared to the existing conditions. Noise abatement walls would not be provided with the No Project Alternative. Thus, areas that currently exceed City noise thresholds would continue to do so in the future. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-4 May 2013 Biological Resources The No Project Alternative would not require the acquisition of additional right-of-way. As a result, no temporary or permanent impacts to vegetation communities or jurisdictional wetlands would occur. In addition, no temporary or permanent impacts to sensitive species would result beyond those occurring under existing conditions. Cultural Resources This alternative would result in no new surface disruption along the roadway. The alluvial and colluvial soils identified within the Project area between Del Poniente Road and a small distance northerly would not be disturbed and potential impacts to unknown subsurface archaeological resources and/or human remains would not occur. As with the build alternatives, no impacts would occur to historic structures. Geology/Soils The No Project Alternative would generally not result in any permanent impacts, due to the fact that no new facilities would be constructed. The existing roadway facilities and operations, however, would still be subject to a number of similar seismic and non-seismic hazards as described for the proposed Project, including ground rupture, ground acceleration, liquefaction, and seismic settlement, landsliding and corrosive soils. Traffic/Transportation Under the No Project Alternative in both near-term and 2030 conditions, Espola Road would operate at LOS E or F from Titan Way to Ezra Lane. The intersection of Espola Road and Durhullen Drive/Golden Sunset Lane also would operate at LOS F during peak hours in the near term and future. LOS improvements that would occur along Espola Road associated with the proposed Project would not occur. Additional transportation facilities are proposed in Project design that would not occur with the No Project Alternative. Wider bike lanes along the entire length of the Project alignment would not be provided and the projected connection to existing bike lanes along Twin Peaks Road would not be made. Similarly, upgrades to pedestrian and equestrian facilities, including non- contiguous sidewalks with landscaped parkways, additional ADA-compliant and maintained pathways and signal crossing buttons to accommodate equestrians would not occur. In summary, the beneficial operational impacts associated with traffic/transportation under the proposed Project would not occur. The driveway approaches located along Espola Road would not require reconstruction and access would therefore not be interrupted. Temporary impacts to vehicle, pedestrian, equestrian and bicycle circulation would not occur because construction activities would not occur under this alternative because no construction activities would occur. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-5 May 2013 Air Quality If an intersection or roadway operates at LOS E or F, there is a potential for CO “hot spots” to form. As discussed above under Traffic/Transportation, Espola Road from Titan Way to Ezra Lane, as well as the intersection of Espola Road and Durhullen Drive/Golden Sunset Lane during peak hours, would operate below LOS D during both near-term and future traffic conditions. Accordingly, there is a potential for a CO “hot spot” to form under the No Project Alternative. The short-term emissions of NOx, CO, SOx and PM10 associated with Project construction would not occur with the No Project Alternative. Similarly, the projected operational increase in VMT and associated increase in MSAT emissions along Espola Road would not occur. It should be noted, however, that even with uncertainties in projecting the degree to which higher speeds may offset MSAT emission, vehicle fuel and engine regulations already in place are expected to reduce MSAT emissions with or without Project improvements. Hydrology and Water Quality Under the No Project Alternative, neither the potential construction- or operation-related effects of Project activities, nor any of the associated measures to improve hydrologic conditions would occur. Drainage alteration, new impervious surfaces, hazardous materials/potential pollutants, erosion/sedimentation, and use of groundwater associated with the proposed Project would not occur under the No Project Alternative. Storm drain improvements that would be included as part of the proposed Project include a number of new and modified facilities to convey on- and off-site generated flows through the study area to the existing outlet point; these would not occur under the No Project Alternative. The existing roadway facilities and operations under the No Project Alternative would be subject to a number of similar hydrologic hazards as described for the proposed Project, including hazards from flooding and tsunamis/seishes and earthquake-induced flooding. Public Services Similar to the proposed Project, the No Project Alternative would not involve the addition of new structures that would necessitate new school or park facilities. Police and fire protection services would not experience the short-term effects caused by roadway construction. Conversely, potential improved response times associated with widening Espola Road from a two-lane facility to a three-lane facility would not be realized under the No Project Alternative. 6.2.3 Conclusion The No Project Alternative would avoid direct impacts to the existing sensitive resources in the study area. It would not, however, meet the basic project objectives or comply with the applicable planning documents, and would result in some increased impacts over the proposed Project (e.g., traffic, air quality). Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-6 May 2013 6.3 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT REJECTED As described below, alternatives considered but rejected included locational (Section 6.3.1) and system design (Sections 6.3.2 and 6.3.3) options. These rejected alternatives include all of the potential build alternatives developed for the Project. As noted above, the principles guiding alternative development have to do with reason and public disclosure. Section 15126.6(a) of the State CEQA Guidelines states that an EIR shall describe “a range of reasonable alternatives to the project, or to the location of the project, which would feasibly attain most of the basic objectives of the project but would avoid or substantially lessen any of the significant effects of the project,” as well as provide an evaluation of “the comparative merits of the alternatives.” Under that section, an EIR does not need to consider every conceivable alternative to the project. The range of alternatives “is governed by the ‘rule of reason’ that requires the EIR to set forth only those alternatives necessary to permit a reasoned choice.” The focus is on informed decision-making and public participation rather than providing a set of alternatives simply to satisfy format. The absence of potential viable build alternatives at this stage of the Espola Road Improvement Project is the direct result of the Project’s design history. The Project is severely constrained by the surrounding land uses and (limited but valuable) natural resources. The road also is immediately abutted by many private residences. Espola Road is not only an ever-present factor in these residents’ daily lives, but improvements requiring widening of the facility result in encroachment into private property. As a result, Project design also was guided by a desire on the part of the City to implement simultaneously the most effective and least impactive design. The current Project reflects years of careful engineering and environmental evaluation of alternative project elements. In an effort to identify the most effective and least impactive project, several design configurations were developed, including options widening more or less to the east or the west, and design of a split-grade roadway. Those alternatives were all consistent with the then-current Circulation Element, which proposed that Espola Road be expanded to a four-lane facility in order to adequately accommodate current and projected traffic loading. The progression of design alternatives started with review of alternative location, followed by the build alternatives originally proposed to match the prior TME. 6.3.1 Alternative Location Under CEQA, off-site alternatives should be considered if development of another site is feasible and would reduce or avoid the significant impacts of a proposed project. Factors that need to be considered when identifying an off-site alternative include the size of the site, its location, the General Plan (or other applicable planning document) land use designation and availability of infrastructure. For Espola Road, the overall purpose is to alleviate congestion on an existing roadway in a developed setting. If another road sited in an alternative location were to be improved, it could Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-7 May 2013 not guarantee meeting the objective of satisfying reduction in congestion on Espola Road. Travelers might choose to still use the existing congested roadway option due to familiarity, or because it is in a more direct line of travel. In addition, a baseline requirement of the CEQA alternative location is that the new location reduce significant impacts associated with the location of the proposed Project. Because there are so few relatively direct north-south routes through the City, and because the surrounding areas also are heavily developed or in dedicated open space, it is not anticipated that an alternative location would lessen potential impacts. Any effort to find a route crossing open space would result in biological impacts, which are minimal in amount with the proposed Project. Similarly, although significant noise impacts are identified for the Project, there is no location just west or east of Espola Road that would not affect existing adjacent residences. A new road route would increase noise impacts by moving the road closer to other homes, and potentially require removal of homes as well. A potential for greater, rather than reduced, impacts overall would occur if the crossing location were to be changed. Taking all of these factors into account, the identification of an alternative location was rejected due to infeasibility. 6.3.2 Design Alternatives Reviewed in Detail Three build alternatives were given detailed analysis during earlier phases of this Project. These include the Conventional Roadway (Alternative 1), the Split Grade Roadway (Alternative 2) and the Westerly Roadway Alignment (Alternative 3). Each of these build alternatives would have provided roadway and associated improvements to Espola Road from approximately 1,000 feet south of the intersection of Espola Road and Titan Way to the intersection of Twin Peaks Road and Espola Road (the same distance assumed for the proposed Project). For all three alternatives, improvements would have consisted of widening the two-lane road to a four-lane secondary arterial, as well as necessary traffic safety, drainage, pedestrian, equestrian, and landscaping improvements. Figure 6-1, Typical Cross Sections – Alternatives 1, 2 and 3, illustrates typical cross-sections for the build alternatives evaluated in detail. Drainage improvements would have continued approximately another 450 feet south of the Espola Road/Twin Peaks Road intersection. Many of the elements proposed for these earlier four-lane alternatives have been carried forward into the proposed Project. These include assumptions regarding overall construction time-frame and equipment, provision of wider bike lanes and pedestrian pathways for the full extent of the roadway improvements, upgraded signalization, undergrounding of existing aboveground utilities, stormwater drainage upgrades, etc. Areas in which the four-lane alternatives varied from the proposed Project (or one another) are discussed below. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-8 May 2013 Alternative 1 - Conventional Roadway Alternative 1 was generally superimposed on the existing road right-of-way, and would have followed both the horizontal and vertical alignment of the current road (Figures 6-2a through e, Conventional Roadway – Alternative 1). Alternative 1 also would have included the following:  Re-routing of driveways for three properties south of High Valley Road on the east side of the roadway. The re-routing would have required alternative access areas and additional private access easements for these three properties  Substantial excavation cuts (50 to 60 feet) into the slope on the east side of the roadway in the area of Northcrest Lane and south of High Valley Road  Right-of-way and slope easement acquisition totaling 4.46 acres  One full parcel acquisition (APN 321-011-24) of property adjacent to Espola Road immediately north of Jerome Drive Roadway Upgrades As noted above, Alternative 1 would have widened the two-lane road to a four-lane secondary arterial facility with two vehicle lanes in each direction between the northern Project terminus south of Titan Way to the intersection of Espola Road and Twin Peaks Road. An approximately 14-foot wide striped or raised median would have been included for the entire length of the roadway widening. Similar to the proposed Project, one new signal would have been constructed at the intersection of Espola Road and Golden Sunset Lane. At the intersection, the Project would have added one through lane in each direction and retained turn pockets for north- and southbound traffic. Pedestrian/Equestrian Improvements A non-contiguous sidewalk would have been installed where possible with a landscaped parkway to separate vehicular traffic from pedestrian traffic, providing additional ADA-compliant and maintained pathway where none exists today, as well as additional separation of pedestrian and vehicular uses over current conditions. The sidewalk would have been approximately five feet wide and generally straight (non-meandering), although not necessarily contiguous with the curb. A 15-foot wide decomposed granite sidewalk also was proposed on the east side of Espola Road and would have connected to east-west trails located at Twin Peaks Road (Twin Peaks Trail) and Del Poniente Road (Tierra Bonita Trail). (See Figure 6-1 for a typical cross section.) Landscaping Landscaping would have been provided along the length of the improved roadway. Figure 6-3, Typical Conceptual Landscape Plan for Alternatives 1 and 3, depicts proposed typical planting. The proposed plant palette would have complied with the City Landscape and Irrigation Design Manual (City 2010), as well as Executive Order 13112 for federally funded projects, which prohibits use of invasive plant species. The plant palette would have unified primary City I:\Gis\B\BAH-01Espola Rd\Map\EIR\Fig6-3_ConeptualLandscape_Alt1_3.indd -RB Typical Conceptual Landscape Plan for Alternatives 1 and 3 ESPOLA ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Figure 6-3 Source: Garbini and Garbini 2003 Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-9 May 2013 roadways and contributed to City identification, as well as meeting City concerns regarding maintenance and low levels of flammability during unexpected wildfire events. Construction Activities Total soil excavation or fill would have required approximately 31,065 cubic yards of cut and 7,495 cubic yards of fill; therefore, soil export was anticipated. Maximum cut and fill slopes generally would have been approximately 25 feet in height, with maximum grades of 100 percent (1:1) for manufactured slopes. Alternative 2 – Split Grade Roadway Alternative 2, a split grade alternative, incorporated many of the elements of Alternative 1. From the vicinity of Golden Sunset Lane southerly, Project elements would have been identical, as would all drainage facilities and staging areas. Variations would have occurred on the east side of Espola Road just south of High Valley Road, and in the area approximately 250 feet south of the water tank. The reader is referred to Figures 6-2a, b and c for elements common to Alternative 1. Figures 6-4a and b, Split Grade Roadway – Alternative 2, highlight those areas in which the alternatives differ. In these areas, the western (southbound) lanes would have retained the existing grade and the eastern (northbound) lanes would have been constructed at a higher grade supported by retaining walls, thereby minimizing cuts into slopes on the east side of the roadway. The retaining walls would have ranged up to 10 feet in height. Grading requirements also generally would have been minimized over those noted for Alternative 1, consisting of 20,395 cubic yards of cut and 13,915 cubic yards of fill; soil export was anticipated. Landscaping for Alternative 2 would have been similar to the proposed Project and Alternative 1 (refer to Figures 6-5a and b, Conceptual Landscape Cross-sections – Alternative 2). Alternative 2 also would have included the following:  Reconstruction of the driveways for three properties south of High Valley Road on the east side of the roadway  Reduction in the size of excavation cuts into slope required for Alternative 1 on the east side of the roadway in the area of Northcrest Lane and south of High Valley Road  Reconstruction of several hundred feet of existing waterline in the area of Northcrest Lane  Right-of-way and slope easement acquisition totaling 4.24 acres Alternative 2 would vary from Alternative 1 in that:  No re-routing of driveways would be required  The full parcel acquisition of property (APN 321-011-24) adjacent to Espola Road immediately north of Jerome Drive would have been eliminated Alternative 2 would have been similar to Alternative 1 in the following areas: roadway upgrades and pedestrian/equestrian improvements; and similar to both Alternative 1 and the proposed Project for: drainage improvements, bikeway improvements, transit service, construction Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-10 May 2013 activities and construction control measures. Alternative 2 landscape cross-sections are provided in Figures 6-5a and 6-5b. Alternative 3 - Westerly Roadway Alignment Alternative 3, the residential property impact minimization alternative, also shared many elements with Alternative 1, and was identical from High Valley Road northerly, and from the vicinity of Golden Sunset Lane southerly. The reader is referred to Figures 6-2a through 6-2e for depiction of identical areas. Just south of High Valley Road, and on the east side of the roadway, right-of-way acquisition from residential properties would have been minimized, with increased right-of-way acquisition occurring on the western side of the road (Figure 6-6, Westerly Roadway Alignment – Alternative 3; see Figure 6-1 for a typical cross section). Grading requirements would have been generally similar, with somewhat less cut, consisting of 27,055 cubic yards of cut and 8,465 cubic yards of fill. Right-of-way and slope easement would have totaled 4.82 acres. Alternative 3 would have varied from Alternative 1 in:  Elimination of the full parcel acquisition of property (APN 321-011-24) adjacent to Espola Road immediately north of Jerome Drive  Demolition and reconstruction of detached garage on property (APN 321-011-41) on west side of roadway (across from APN 321-011-24)  No re-routing of the driveways for three properties south of High Valley Road on the east side of the roadway  Reduction in size of cuts into slope on the east side of the roadway in the area of Northcrest Lane and south of High Valley Road and increases in fill on the west side of Espola Road Rationale for Rejecting Design Alternatives Reviewed in Detail Because an objective of the Project is to improve conditions on an existing roadway, the potential footprint within which to consider alternatives is relatively constrained. Any roadway improvements would, therefore, necessarily alter a portion of the City that has already experienced some development from the existing roadway. Project design was guided by a desire on the part of the City to limit the adverse affects associated with roadway widening, and retain the community’s rural character to the extent possible while still achieving the improved LOS as outlined in the General Plan (City 1991a). Accordingly, project alternatives that would sufficiently improve traffic conditions, while not requiring unnecessary expansion of the road with greater need to acquire private property, were considered to be superior. As the Traffic Analysis discusses, the use of a two-way left-turn lane is appropriate for roadways with less than 24,000 projected ADT and would still accomplish the LOS objectives on such a road (Appendix F). Because an alternative (the proposed Project) exists that would meet the Project objectives while requiring less acquisition of private property and minimizing visual changes that might alter the rural character of the community, the three build alternatives that involved construction of additional lanes were rejected. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-11 May 2013 6.3.3 Additional Design Alternatives During the Project alternatives development process, additional build alternatives were considered but eliminated from more detailed review in this EIR. The purpose of the following alternatives was to reduce the amount of new right-of-way needed by reducing the Project footprint. These include the Two-lane Collector with Safety Improvements (Alternative 4), Four-lane Intersection Alternative (Alternative 4A) and the Single-lane Roundabout Alternative (Alternative 5). Alternative 4 – Two-lane Collector with Safety Improvements Alternative 4 generally would have maintained Espola Road as a two-lane collector beginning approximately 1,000 feet south of the intersection of Espola Road and Titan Way and ending 200 feet south of the crossing of Rattlesnake Creek. Improvements would have included the necessary traffic safety, drainage, sidewalk and pathway upgrades, and landscaping improvements described for Alternative 1. Figure 6-7, Two-lane Collector With Safety Improvements – Alternative 4, depicts the alternative. A 12-foot wide striped or raised median would be included for the entire length of the roadway widening. A cross-section of this alternative is shown on Figure 6-8, Typical Cross-sections – Alternative 4 and 4A. Although the roadway would be maintained as a two-lane collector, the Espola Road and High Valley Road traffic signal would be upgraded and one new signal would be constructed at the intersection of Espola Road and Golden Sunset Lane. At each of these intersections, Alternative 4 would add one through lane in each direction, and retain turn pockets for north- and south-bound traffic. The traffic capacity of roadways, and subsequent LOS, is based on a number of factors. These factors include the roadway geometrics including lane widths and roadway alignment, traffic signal spacing, number of driveways, speed of traffic and other factors. Determining the roadway LOS includes a comparison of the daily traffic to anticipated roadway capacity. The traffic capacity numbers for local roadway classifications has been approved by the City and are published in the General Plan (City1991a, as amended). The main difference with the raised median is the prohibition of left-turn movements along the roadway segments. Since the left- turn movements would be concentrated at the intersections, extra left-turn storage would be necessary as well as geometrics to accommodate U-turns. Additionally, the removal of “friction” caused by vehicles weaving to access the center left-turn lane may result in an increase in roadway capacity. Although there have been recent studies showing that roadway capacity may be increased with the addition of a raised median, there is no current method to quantify the increased capacity and subsequent LOS. This alternative was eliminated from further evaluation because it was unable to meet the Project objectives in their entirety. Improvements provided by the alternative would not adequately meet the Project objectives for increased roadway capacity along the street segments. Each roadway segment would continue to fail to meet design capacity thresholds (and would be equivalent LOS F) with this alternative under both the near-term and future scenarios. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-12 May 2013 Alternative 4A – Four-lane Intersection Alternative 4A generally would have maintained Espola Road as a two-lane collector beginning approximately 1,000 feet south of the intersection of Espola Road and Titan Way and ending 200 feet south of the crossing of Rattlesnake Creek. Improvements would have consisted of the necessary traffic safety, drainage, sidewalk and pathway upgrades, and landscaping improvements described for Alternative 1. Figure 6-9, Four-lane Intersection – Alternative 4A, shows Alternative 4A. A striped or raised median (12 feet) would have been included for the entire length of the roadway widening. A cross-section of the alternative is shown on Figure 6-8. Although the roadway would have been maintained as a two-lane collector, intersections would have been improved by adding one additional through lane (for a total of two) in each direction to Espola Road at its intersection with Durhullen Drive/Golden Sunset Lane and High Valley Road/Del Poniente Road. Similar to the proposed Project, one traffic signal would have been upgraded (at the intersection of Espola Road with High Valley Road), and one new signal would have been constructed at the intersection of Espola Road and Golden Sunset Lane. At each of these intersections, the alternative would retain turn pockets for north- and southbound traffic. This alternative was eliminated from further evaluation because it was unable to meet the Project objectives in their entirety. Improvements provided by the alternative would not adequately meet the Project objectives for safety or increased roadway capacity along the street segments. With capacity enhancements (two through lanes in each direction) only at two intersections, vehicles traveling through the improved intersections would have to immediately merge back into a single travel lane (single lane in each direction) between the signalized four-lane intersections and the two-lane roadway segments. These conflict points would result in adverse effects on safety as vehicles merge back onto the narrower roadway segments. A slight increase in roadway capacity would have been realized from the additional lanes at the two intersections and the addition of a raised median as discussed above but each roadway segment would continue to fail with this alternative under both the near-term and future scenarios. Alternative 5 – Single-lane Roundabout Alternative 5 also would have maintained Espola Road as a two-lane collector beginning at approximately 1,000 feet south of the intersection of Espola Road and Titan Way and ending 200 feet south of the crossing of Rattlesnake Creek. Improvements would have consisted of the traffic safety, drainage, sidewalks and pathways, and landscaping improvements described for Alternative 1. Figure 6-10, Single-lane Roundabout – Alternative 5, shows the Single-lane Roundabout Alternative. A striped or raised median approximately 14 feet in width would have been included for the entire length of the roadway widening. A cross-section of the alternative is shown on Figure 6-11, Typical Cross-section – Alternative 5. Although the roadway would have been maintained as a two-lane collector, intersections would have been improved by adding a two-lane roundabout at the intersection of Espola Road and Twin Peaks Road, and single-lane roundabouts at the intersections of Espola Road with Durhullen Drive/Golden Sunset and Del Poniente Road/High Valley Road. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-13 May 2013 This alternative was rejected due to its inability to meet Project objectives with regard to traffic flow as well as increased private property acquisition for necessary road right-of-way at the Espola Road and Twin Peaks Road two-lane roundabout locale. 6.4 ENVIRONMENTALLY SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE Although the No Project Alternative would result in minimal or substantially reduced environmental impacts, Section 15126.6(e)(2) of the State CEQA Guidelines requires identification of an alternative other than the No Project Alternative as the environmentally superior alternative. Accordingly, the proposed Project is considered to be the environmentally superior alternative for the widening of Espola Road. As opposed to the other build alternatives analyzed in detail, which would widen Espola Road to a four-lane secondary arterial, the proposed Project would only widen the road to three lanes, thereby resulting in reduced impacts to visual/aesthetics, biological and cultural resources, and geology/soils. In addition, the proposed Project would not result in any additional impacts not assessed for the four-lane build alternatives. Also, as discussed in Section 6.3.3, the additional design alternatives that involved reduced roadway improvements were rejected because they would not have met the basic Project objectives of improving traffic to operate within design capacity thresholds. Chapter 6.0 – Alternatives Espola Road Improvement Project Final EIR 6-14 May 2013 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK