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EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN Goal T2: A land use pattern that encourages walking, bicycling, and public transit use. Policies Implementation Measures T2.1 Land Use Patterns. Recognize the link between land use and transportation. Promote land use and development patterns that encourage walking, bicycling, and transit use. Emphasize high-density and mixed land use patterns that promote transit and pedestrian travel. Where feasible, emphasize the following land use measures: 1. Promote conveniently located neighborhood complexes that provide housing and commercial services near employment centers and within transit corridors. 2. Promote land use patterns that maximize trip-linking opportunities by assembling uses that allow people to take care of a variety of daily needs. 3. Encourage pedestrian-oriented land use and urban design that can have a demonstrable effect on transportation choices. 4. Direct growth to occur along transit corridors. 5. Encourage retail, commercial, and office uses in ground floor space in combination with upper-floor housing along San Pablo Avenue. • Development Review T2.2 Project Design. Projects should be designed to include features that encourage walking, bicycling, and transit use. • Development Review • Transit First Policy August 30, 1999 Transportation and Circulation 5-21 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN Goal T3: A transportation system that maintains and improves the livability of the City. Policies Implementation Measures T3.1 Improve Circulation. Improve circulation in locations with high levels of congestion, but avoid major increases in street capacities unless necessary to remedy severe traffic congestion, and not at the expense of pedestrian circulation. • Capital Improvement Program • Development Review • Traffic Monitoring T3.2 Streets as Public Spaces. Recognize the role of streets not only as vehicle routes but also as part of an extensive system of public spaces where people live, city residents meet, and businesses reside. • Streetscape Design Standards T3.3 Residential Streets. To discourage cut- through traffic on residential streets, maintain the existing system of arterial and collector streets. Where necessary, employ traffic management techniques to control the speed of vehicles traveling on residential streets, including residential portions of arterial and collector streets. • Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan • Preference for Cut- through Streets T3.4 Street Closures. Keep all neighborhood streets open unless there is an existing or potential safety or cut-through traffic problem and there are no acceptable alternatives, or unless the closure would increase the use of alternative transportation modes. • Circulation Map T3.5 Street Maintenance. Provide high- quality, regular maintenance for existing and future transportation facilities, including streets and dedicated bicycle paths. • Pavement Management Plan T3.6 Maintenance of San Pablo. Coordinate with Caltrans to ensure the timely maintenance of San Pablo Avenue. • Intergovernmental Coordination 5-22 Transportation and Circulation August 30, 1999 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN Goal T4: A minimum amount of land used for parking and minimal parking intrusion in neighborhoods. Policies Implementation Measures T4.1 Parking Requirements. Develop parking requirements that are consistent with the goals for increased use of alternative transportation modes, and acknowledge shared parking opportunities. • Development Review • Parking Regulations T4.2 Underparked Areas of San Pablo Avenue. Evaluate long-term parking needs along San Pablo Avenue and promote the development of common parking facilities in areas where existing and long-term parking provisions will not satisfy latent parking demand. • Parking Management Plan • Parking Regulations • Development Review T4.3 BART Parking. Support decreasing the amount of land dedicated to parking around BART stations by using parking structures. To reduce parking demand at BART stations, encourage an improved transit feeder system to BART stations including consideration of new transit technologies. Encourage BART parking not to obstruct pedestrian access from stations to surrounding land uses. • Intergovernmental Coordination • Parking Regulations T4.4 Residential Parking Permits. Maintain the restrictive residential permit-parking program for neighborhoods surrounding BART stations. As need arises, expand the permit parking areas or create new permit parking areas to protect neighborhoods from parking intrusion from adjacent land uses. • Residential Permit Parking Program August 30, 1999 Transportation and Circulation 5-23 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN D. Implementation Implementation measures below are listed in alphabetical order. 1. Bicycle Master Plan. Prepare a comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan that complies with the 13 elements outlined in the California Bicycle Lane Account (BLA). The Bicycle Master Plan should include an active public input process to develop a comprehensive bicycle circulation and support facilities system; design standards for bicycle facilities; standards for the provision of bicycle support facilities; evaluation of current bicycle education and promotion programs in El Cerrito; analysis of bicycle accidents in El Cerrito; and a capital improvement program. The Bicycle Master Plan should encourage local access to the BART stations by bicycling as an alternative to short-distance driving. Develop a strategic approach to pursuing state and federal funding for bicycle projects, working closely with surrounding jurisdictions and Contra Costa County. Work with the City of Richmond to provide a clear connection between the Ohlone Greenway and the planned Richmond Greenway. 2. Capital Improvement Program. Ensure that adequate funding is available to implement transportation improvements required to mitigate the effects of growth. 3. Circulation Map. Use the circulation map in the General Plan to guide activities related to goods movement, emergency routes, and street closures. 4. Development Review. Undertake development reviews to ensure compliance with applicable local, regional, state, and federal laws and adopted policies. Ensure that developers contribute funding for on-site and off-site improvements. Adopt an ordinance requiring developers to do the following: a. Construct transportation improvements along their property frontages when appropriate; and b. Fund traffic impact studies that identify on-site and off-site effects and mitigation measures. 5-24 Transportation and Circulation August 30, 1999 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN 5. Intergovernmental Coordination. Coordinate with adjacent jurisdictions, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Contra Costa County, AC Transit, BART, Caltrans, and other applicable agencies. The Contra Costa County Transportation Authority (CCTA) West County Action Plan for Routes of Regional Significance (12/9/94) defines a regional vision for Hercules, Pinole, San Pablo, Richmond, and El Cerrito. This document defines many of the City’s positions with respect to regional transportation improvements. Some of the key Action Plan items are: a. Support inclusion of the West County BART extension in the MTC Track 2 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) project lists. b. Pursue every opportunity to speed the funding and construction of the West c. Expand efforts urging MTC to determine the best express transit system(s) for the Interstate 80 corridor and, based on the results of the MTC study, encourage timely implementation of planned transit capital and service improvements. d. Promote Carquinez Bridge alternatives that will achieve mainline metering of Interstate 80 into West Contra Costa County. e. Support efforts by Caltrans, CCTA, and MTC to tailor capacity of the Carquinez Bridge improvements to capacity. f. Support efforts by AC Transit to study the feasibility of bus rapid transit treatments along San Pablo Avenue. g. Support mixed-use development, high employment commercial, and higher- density residential development in transit corridors and near BART stations. h. Consider additional transit mitigation alternatives, as appropriate, in future Action Plan Deficiency Strategies. In addition to, and in support of, these regional key items, the following are City of El Cerrito interagency coordination positions: a. As opportunities present themselves, improve freeway access to El Cerrito, particularly around the Del Norte area and at the Central Avenue interchange. b. Oppose transportation projects that would diminish access to Interstate 80 from El Cerrito. c. Oppose regional capacity enhancements to San Pablo Avenue except when the improvements serve local traffic and do not compromise bus, pedestrian and bicycle travel. d. Support physical enhancements to San Pablo Avenue to make it a transit and pedestrian friendly multi-modal street. e. Encourage the City of Richmond and Caltrans to conduct a detailed operations analysis of the Central Avenue interchange and be an active participant in this study. This study should address an existing base year condition as well as a 20-year growth forecast including expected growth August 30, 1999 Transportation and Circulation 5-25 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN from development in El Cerrito, Richmond and Albany. It should also address weekday and Saturday conditions. It should be conducted using a detailed operations analysis such as and/or CORSIM. 6. Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan. Develop a Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) to respond to problems in a consistent and methodical way. The NTMP should have a strong citizen participation element so that residents can evaluate the benefits and trade-offs of various measures and be actively involved in the decision-making process. Develop a standard procedure for residents to initiate a local NTMP and provide a handbook describing the process and specific steps. At a minimum, the handbook should define the standard procedure, type of data collection, toolbox of potential traffic calming measures, prioritization methodology, and funding mechanism(s). Ensure that the process is vigorously maintained and administered by City staff at all levels. 7. Parking Management Plan. Conduct an evaluation of long-term parking needs in commercial areas with current or anticipated parking shortages. Investigate the feasibility of developing common off-street parking facilities in target areas. Consider various funding sources for new parking facilities including in-lieu fees for development projects, redevelopment money, and formation of parking assessment districts. 8. Parking Regulations. Develop parking requirements that permit projects to provide less parking if they can demonstrate high use of alternative transportation modes. Specify maximum and minimum parking ratios. Allow a reduction in the individual use parking requirements where two or more non- residential uses provide joint parking, and encourage developers of compatible land uses to provide joint parking facilities. Encourage developers to locate parking lots to the rear or sides of buildings, except where infeasible, to prevent lots from becoming barriers to walking. 9. Pavement Management Plan. Maintain a systematic pavement management program and identify and prioritize maintenance projects in the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Street maintenance should also include maintenance and regular cleaning of bicycle routes to remove debris and poor pavement conditions that discourage bicycle riding. The Pavement Management Plan should also address signage and pavement on the Ohlone Greenway. 10. Pedestrian Circulation Plan. Review existing pedestrian circulation within the City to identify constraints to walking, develop improvement plans at constrained locations (including pedestrian street crossings), and incorporate pedestrian enhancement projects into the City Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Encourage local access to BART stations by walking as an alternative to short-distance driving. Develop new sidewalk width standards consistent with the type and intensity of adjacent land use. Attention should be paid to the issue 5-26 Transportation and Circulation August 30, 1999 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN of tree damage to sidewalks and obstruction of sidewalks by signs. When constructing or modifying sidewalks: a. Maintain accessibility for all users. b. Within commercial, office, and mixed-use areas, provide or improve sidewalk pedestrian amenities, such as seating, bicycle parking, pedestrian-scale lighting, street trees, flower boxes, trash receptacles, drinking fountains, and awnings. In many cases, this may be in combination with the development of adjacent properties. c. Systematically inspect and maintain sidewalk facilities to clean and repair damaged surfaces and remove or relocate impediments, such as poles and newspaper racks that interfere with pedestrian flow. d. Build at sufficient width to allow at least two people to walk side-by-side. Make sidewalk widths in commercial areas more generous. e. Where possible, channel or guide pedestrian traffic along sidewalks to increase commercial opportunities. As part of a pedestrian circulation plan the City should examine the value for pedestrians of mid-block paths in the hills, and should identify improvements needed to make them safe and effective routes, as well as identify an ongoing maintenance program. The City should consider for abandonment paths that could not affordably and effectively function as part of the pedestrian circulation system. 11. Residential Permit Parking Program. Maintain the City’s current residential permit parking program. Develop a standard procedure for evaluating permit parking requests and implementing residential permit parking. 12. Streetscape Design Standards. Develop street typologies (residential street, commercial main street, boulevard, etc.) with design standards to protect the role of the street as a public space. 13. Traffic Monitoring. Ensure regular monitoring of traffic levels and intersection capacity to update base data and respond to changing conditions. 14. Transit First Policy. It is the official policy of the City of El Cerrito to encourage and promote the use of public transit among El Cerrito residents and visitors, and expedite the movement of transit vehicles. The City has directed the Planning Commission, the Design Review Board and the Community Development Department to consider and incorporate various methods of expediting transit service and encouraging greater use of transit. Some of the specific methods for accomplishing these goals are: a. Evaluation of automobile turning movements that conflict with transit vehicles; b. Consideration of transit preemption; August 30, 1999 Transportation and Circulation 5-27 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN c. Evaluation and optimization of bus stop locations, designs and maintenance; and d. Provision of improvements to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle access to transit stops. 15. Transportation System Performance Measures. Develop a level-of-service standard for traffic operations that assesses service levels for all street users, including buses, pedestrians, and bicycles. Consider modifying the City’s current LOS D standard to allow for higher levels of automobile congestion during peak hours in order to reduce the need for improvements that decrease opportunities for alternative transportation modes or reduce parking supply. Using a level of service standard worse than LOS D maybe considered acceptable where: a. Upstream or bottlenecks control the flow of traffic through an intersection such that capacity enhancements improvements) would have marginal benefit; b. Retaining a bottleneck would discourage regional or semi-regional traffic from using a facility; or c. Traffic capacity enhancements would degrade pedestrian, transit or bicycle conditions additional lanes increases pedestrian crossing distances). In order to maintain consistency with the Congestion Management Plan, LOS E is the worst level of service standard that could be adopted for San Pablo Avenue. 16. Preference for Cut-through Streets. In conjunction with the Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan, neighborhoods along residentail streets which bear cut-through traffic (as measured by up-to-date traffic data) should be given priority for neighborhood improvements to compensate for the effects of traffic. In addition to traffic management techniques, such improvements might include amenities such as street tree planting and utility undergrounding. 5-28 Transportation and Circulation August 30, 1999 ---PAGE BREAK--- EL CERRITO GENERAL PLAN 17. Travel Demand Management (TDM). Support and promote TDM measures to reduce the percentage of person trips made by automobile and to reduce the annual vehicle miles of travel. Reduce the percentage of trips made by automobile and provide the opportunity and facilities to divert trips from automobiles to other modes. Encourage small businesses in areas of employment concentration to form cooperatives that can collectively provide effective TDM options to employees. August 30, 1999 Transportation and Circulation 5-29