There are traffic jams on Highway 1 How can we relieve this congestion?
2016: Year of Decision for Santa Cruz County Transportation + le b a n i sta u S + Unsu stain able Which path should we take? 2016 2035
The Regional Transportation Commission is proposing a sales tax ballot measure (half a cent for 30 years) to fund a variety of transportation projects. The detailed proposed Expenditure Plan is here. While the majority of projects are sustainable, one category of projects (termed Highway Corridors ) would widen Highway 1 by adding auxiliary lanes to three segments of the highway, at a cost of $102 million. Such widening of Highway 1 is not sustainable. Auxiliary lane: An extra lane from one interchange to the next that does not include either interchange.
The Highway 1 projects will not provide lasting congestion relief. These are the auxiliary lane segments that would be constructed, as described in the recently released Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and the proposed ballot measure: Soquel Drive to 41st Avenue for $29 million (orange) Bay/Porter to Park Avenue for $32 million (purple) Park Avenue to State Park Drive for $41 million (yellow)
Caltrans has recently admitted that increasing highway capacity is unlikely to relieve traffic congestion. Adding capacity to roadways fails to alleviate congestion for long because it actually increases vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This document is posted on the Caltrans website. Presumably Caltrans endorses its findings.
Caltrans' Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), recently released, says, on page 2.1.5-16: Overall, this shows that the Tier I Corridor TSM Alternative would result in a very slight improvement in traffic congestion when compared to the No Build Alternative. TSM: Transportation Systems Management, which includes the Auxiliary Lane projects.
The DEIR fails, incorrectly, to account for Induced Travel. A single page in the DEIR (page 2.1.5-23) dismisses the need to account for Induced Travel, but this is contradicted by data displayed in the DEIR itself. A clear definition of induced travel is provided by this document, posted by the Air Resources Board: An increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) attributable to increases in capacity is called 'induced travel'.
The DEIR says that adding lanes to Highway 1 will increase the VMT. This chart shows vehicle miles traveled (VMT), using data from Table 2.1.5-7 in the DEIR. Note that adding lanes under the TSM alternative increases the VMT significantly. No Build means no lanes or other projects are built.
Increase in VMT = Increase in Global Warming For each mile traveled by an automobile, about a pound of CO2 is emitted. It's invisible, so we don't think about it much. If it were a one-pound bag of trash for each mile, we might notice it, and be more concerned. Imagine 100,000 cars (average daily traffic on parts of Highway 1 during the peak hour), each one tossing out a one-pound bag of trash each minute or two of its travel. Not pretty.
Under the TSM alternative, the DEIR predicts severe congestion by 2035. On Page 2.1.5-14 of the DEIR, it states that...in the evening principal commute direction (southbound), there would be a slight increase in the average travel time (62 minutes, 2 percent increase), while the average travel speed would slightly decrease (10 mph, 9 percent decrease) due to the severe breakdown of State Route 1 by year 2035.
So if lanes are added to Highway 1: After a few years, the highway will become again congested. Widening Highway 1 is not a sustainable path. What then? What will work to relieve congestion?
Instead of spending over $100 million to widen Highway 1, four of the five categories should receive increased funding. Increased funding for the Rail Corridor, for Mobility Access (METRO) for Active Transportation (bikes and pedestrians), and for some Neighborhood Projects (maintaining local streets and roads) will, in the long run, relieve congestion on Highway 1, by providing additional travel mode options.
Sustainable alternatives to widening Highway 1 Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) now under construction. See the Rail Transit Feasibility Study for the Santa Cruz Branch line. It estimates, for Santa Cruz to Watsonville, 5,000 to 6,800 weekday boardings. Watch this video to learn what Portland Oregon decided in 1990.
Sustainable alternatives to widening Highway 1 Enable Transportation Demand Management: Work with institutions and businesses to stimulate Carpools and Vanpools Telecommuting Transit Walking and bicycling
Sustainable alternatives to widening Highway 1 A bus-on-shoulder scheme, like this one in Ottawa, might work on Highway 1. Other places use this scheme: Minneapolis Atlanta San Diego Cleveland
Sustainable alternatives to widening Highway 1 Development of Walkable Neighborhoods: Click on walkscore.com Watch this video to learn about Transit Oriented Development.
Sustainable alternatives to widening Highway 1 The benefits of physical activity are well known. Here is a publication posted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). They write: Exercise, including 'active transportation' activities like walking and bicycling, can help prevent weight gain and lower the risks of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Sustainable alternatives to widening Highway 1 The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) publishes a Transit Savings Report each month, showing, for selected cities, how much money an individual or household can save by using public transit instead of a private automobile. It can be as much as $1,000 per month. Click here to see APTA's December 2015 Transit Savings Report. The annual savings is $9,247 for a person who switches their daily commute by car to taking public transportation.
Other Bay Area communities are moving away from highway widening. From an article in the SF Chronicle on October 31, 2015: Not so long ago, a list of the Bay Area s top transportation projects would have been crowded with longer, wider, even brand-new highways and freeways crisscrossing the region. But that approach has all but disappeared in the rearview mirror. 'If there was a battle, it s done,' said Michael Cunningham, senior vice president of public policy for the Bay Area Council, a business advocacy group. 'Our region and most stakeholders are comfortable with the idea that the most significant growth in our system is going to come through regional transit.'
In 2004, a sales tax ballot measure that would widen Highway 1 was soundly defeated. This ballot measure (Measure J ) would have allocated 65% of the funding to widen Highway 1. It required a 66.7% yes vote to pass. It received only a 43% yes vote.
In 2007, polling was done to see what might be approved by the voters. In a public opinion poll conducted by EMC Research, people were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with this statement: We must accept that global warming is a problem and should have long term planning in Santa Cruz County that will result in less individual car use and more efficient transportation choices. Agree: 75%
Conclusions While the current Expenditure Plan for the Sales Tax Ballot Measure allocates funds for many sustainable projects, it is clear that the Highway 1 widening projects are not sustainable and are a waste of funds. Construction of the Aux Lane segments will not provide lasting congestion relief. Aux Lane funding should be spent instead on METRO and the Rail Corridor. The funds to be allocated for METRO are insufficient. METRO faces a deficit that would result in service being reduced by some 25%. We need to prevent that from happening. The funds to be allocated for Passenger Rail are insufficient to provide an operating rail service, and an additional ballot measure seems highly unlikely to get voter approval.
2016: The year of decision for transportation in Santa Cruz County. Please help us make the choices that are sustainable, that is, will last a long time. If you agree, please consider signing our petition. It is posted right here.