Veterans, senior center project sparks traffic, parking concerns

Several residents living near the project site expressed concerns about potential impacts at a July 2 Planning Commission meeting. That meeting was held to gather input on the draft environmental impact report for the project, which is currently in a 45-day public review period that ends July 22. The feedback will guide additional analysis of project impacts to be included in the final EIR. 

“There are many concerns with this project. … I am in favor of remodeling the facility, but I just don’t agree with the scale of the project for the neighborhood size,” said Patrice Bernard, who lives near the park. 

Bernard said the DEIR fails to acknowledge that a stretch of Madison Avenue between Myrtle and Hudson streets narrows significantly, and also noted the road is frequented by cyclists with cars regularly parked on both sides. Those factors, combined with the fact that there are two churches on Madison Avenue, mean the street is regularly congested and Bernard is concerned that will only worsen once the joint development is built. She isn’t convinced that Phase I will not generate any new traffic as the DEIR states. 

“The city will likely need to implement those wimpy after-the-fact mitigations in an attempt to solve the unacceptable levels of service,” she said.

Noting that a DEIR only studies intersections and not the roads between them, commissioners seemed to find merit in Bernard’s concerns and requested Madison Avenue be studied in greater detail for the final EIR.

“Because of the narrowness of that section — when I was a kid I lived on Madison so I’m well aware of the constraints there — to the extent possible I would also ask that we figure out a way to go above and beyond the bare minimum requirements of CEQA to understand what’s going on there,” he said. “I would underscore that.”

The DEIR estimates a parking demand of 223 spaces on weekdays and 279 spaces on Saturday, which can be satisfied by the 283 parking spaces included in the development. But a parking lot functions best when they are 90% occupied or less so that new arrivals can be assured of finding a spot and won’t drive around searching, according to the DEIR. A 90% occupancy rate would result in the need of 248 parking spaces on a weekday and 310 spaces on a Saturday, which is 27 more spaces than would exist. To address that discrepancy, employees, of which there will be about 23, will park at the Community Activities Building parking lot on the south side of the park during weekends, according to the DEIR.

The DEIR includes a transportation demand management measures for employees that would reduce parking demand and commissioners also want such measures for users of the facility as well.

Senior planner Anna McGill said the neighborhood can also request a parking permit program in the future to maintain parking spots on their streets.

While Phase I of the project is not expected to generate new traffic, the entire project with the YMCA addition will generate 468 daily car trips, according to the DEIR. 

Mary Lachapelle, who also lives near the park, is concerned the neighborhood won’t be able to handle the additional traffic.

“Looking at the report, the fact that we’re adding 283 parking spaces to an area already at capacity for what the neighborhood can sustain is very concerning to me,” she said.

Resident Desiree Johnson shared those concerns and argued the traffic study, performed in February, is understating future traffic counts because that month is not high traffic season and doesn’t account for baseball games, soccer season or the increased traffic from the Magical Bridge Playground being built in Red Morton Park. 

Planning Commission Chair Kevin Bondonno was also sympathetic to that concern and asked for summer traffic data to be included in the EIR if possible. 

“This whole area might have more use, more demand in summer months even beyond typical school months,” he said. 

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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