Let’s Talk Traffic

One of the leading concerns that Save Our Creek has, with regard to the proposed SummerHill Homes development of the Magee Ranch land, is the additional traffic that such a development will create. And this issue also appears to be (according to sources) the main thing that has delayed – multiple times – the public release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) from the Town of Danville.

As I reported in my , the recent Weber EIR estimated that 168 additional car trips would be generated from the SummerHill project during daily commute times. Now I am no mathematician but I have two issues with this estimate:

1. A minimum of 25 percent of the proposed 78 SummerHill units will also include “casitas” that can be rented (so as to satisfy affordable housing requirements) or used by in-laws, extended families, or adult children. I therefore find it hard to believe that 100 or more dwellings will only generate 74 trips at morning peak hours and 94 trips during afternoon peak hours (as the Weber EIR claimed).
2. Even if you put aside the traffic implications of rental “casitas”, it seems illogical to assume that the new residents of SummerHill’s 78 properties will only have one car operating during rush hour times.

However, I think the bigger picture here is the traffic that we are currently experiencing today. The simple fact of the matter is that local residents are already suffering serious traffic congestion along the Diablo Road corridor. And if you don’t believe me, check out the videos on the Save Our Creek website. One of which clearly shows 79 cars waiting to cross through the stop sign by Athena School. These traffic back-ups are in spite of the Town of Danville’s recent mitigation efforts – including a school bus service (whose continued funding and operation is not guaranteed, by the way) and staggered school drop off times.  

I myself have often been stuck in the back up at the Athena School intersection, as well as the traffic at the Diablo Road/Green Valley Road/McCauley Road intersection. And (not to make light of the situation), I can’t tell you how horrifying it is when your child says “Mommy, I need to poop,” when all you can see ahead of you is a line of cars that you know will take at least another 20+ minutes to navigate before you get to school.

While the Town of Danville’s DEIR consultant figures out what to do with its latest round of traffic data, I struggle (because of personal experience) to envision how any kind of road widening (which, let’s face it will be limited because of the creek and the houses that border this stretch of road)…or traffic signals…or redirection of traffic (to ultimately become somebody else’s problem)…will help.

But I am interested to know your own thoughts.