Traffic Congestion and Quality of Life in Pleasanton.

By Jerry T. Thorne, P.E.

Traffic congestion problems in Pleasanton MUST be solved.

The two traffic elements included in the 1996 General Plan that have been the most controversial are the West Las Positas interchange and the planned extension of Stoneridge Drive.

I originally announced my position on the West Las Positas interchange in 2002 and that position has not changed. Basically, I do NOT believe that the construction of the West Las Positas interchange is fiscally responsible and it would create a safety problem at Muirwood and West Las Positas for the huge number of children that cross that intersection going to and from school. The cost of the interchange would be very high and the benefits would not justify the cost. Also, there is NO effective and reasonable funding mechanism for the interchange. I strongly support removing it from the General Plan with the land set aside for the construction of the interchange preserved as voter protected open space. In other words, the General Plan update should require a vote of the people to utilize this land for anything other than open space which would prevent future Councils from approving commercial, residential or any other development on that land without voter approval.

Since the preponderance of the public input received by myself and the City Council has also indicated that the public does not support the extension of Stoneridge Drive, the version of the General Plan update presented by the Council should eliminate both the West Las Positas interchange and the extension of Stoneridge Drive.

I would recommend that the traffic experts be given the very demanding charter of designing a Traffic Circulation plan that does NOT include either of the two elements mentioned above and the plan should mitigate traffic congestion to the point that we have NO intersections within the city at a service level worse than "D".

In the final analysis, the City of Pleasanton must continue to work on a regional, state and perhaps even the federal level to secure funding for the planned improvements on highway 84 and I580 as well as improvements in public transportation. Pleasanton can drive none of these projects alone; however, all are essential to solving traffic problems within Pleasanton. Elected officials must also make sure that our fair share of available funding is coming to the region. The 580/680 intersection could become a "bottle-neck" for the entire Bay Area and funding improvements should be a priority for the entire Bay Area.

Jerry Thorne