Project design minimizes traffic impacts

Many factors – particularly the reduction in the number of homes proposed – work together to greatly reduce potential impacts to local roadways.  Also contributing to low impacts are the low density nature of the community and planned off-site roadway improvements.

Local roadway improvements

• The West Coyote Hills proposal would provide funding for the city’s Traffic Impact Fee Program, which funds needed improvements throughout the city.
• Gilbert St. north of Castlewood Dr. would be widened to four lanes, eliminated the existing two-lane bottleneck.

Smart design

• Today’s plan includes 33 percent fewer homes and almost 90 percent more open space than originally proposed.
• The two-mile long property would include entry and exit points at Rosecrans Ave., Coyote Hills Dr., Idaho St., and Euclid St., which would serve to disperse car trips and reduce the impact at any one particular intersection.
• The project site is surrounded by existing jobs and is near a strong regional job base.  Providing homes near jobs is a critical component to sustainable community planning because it reduces commute times associated with urban sprawl development.
• The plan’s small-scale retail village would provide shops designed to meet many of the everyday needs of future residents, which would help to reduce off-site car trips.
• The plan’s extensive trails plan and bike lane program would connect West Coyote Hills to the city’s existing alternative transportation system.

In addition to widening Gilbert St., improvements over the current conditions will include a ten foot landscaped median, six foot bike lanes in each direction, a landscaped parkway on the east side and a sidewalk on the west side.

Analysis of potential impacts

• Thirty-two key intersections near West Coyote Hills were analyzed to determine current and future traffic volumes with and without the proposed project.
• Under both the city’s criteria and the county’s criteria, completion of West Coyote Hills would not lead to any significant impacts to any of the 32 studied intersections.