3 Circulation and Mobility
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Port Hueneme General Plan Background Report Circulation and Mobility 3 Circulation and Mobility 3.1 Purpose This chapter describes the City of Port Hueneme’s existing transportation facilities and circulation system, including highway, transit, bikeway, rail and aviation facilities, and related programs. The purpose of the Circulation chapter is to guide the development of the City’s transportation system and outline a strategy for addressing the City’s infrastructure needs. The Circulation/Infrastructure Element of the 1998 General Plan identifies the following goals for circulation in the City (City of Port Hueneme 1998): 1. Provide a comprehensive transportation system for the movement of persons and goods with maximum safety, efficiency, and convenience, and with a minimum of delay and cost. 2. Provide a balanced roadway system which will provide adequate accessibility to existing and future land uses with minimum impact on residential neighborhoods. 3. Encourage the use of alternative transportation modes. 4. Improvement of accessibility to the City from the regional freeway and highway system. 3.2 Regulatory Setting The State and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) have enacted the following policies that pertain to aspects of transportation, circulation and mobility that will be addressed in the General Plan update. State California Transportation Plan The California State Transportation Agency prepares the California Transportation Plan every five years to provide a long-range policy framework to meet the State’s future mobility needs and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to goals set by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill [AB] 32) and implementing legislation Senate Bill (SB) 375 (discussed below). The most recent California Transportation Plan was adopted in 2016. The California Transportation Plan defines goals, performance-based policies, and strategies to achieve the State’s collective vision for California’s future statewide, integrated, multimodal transportation system by envisioning a sustainable system that improves mobility and enhances quality of life. The Plan is developed in collaboration with transportation stakeholders such as the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). Assembly Bill 1358 The California Complete Streets Act (AB 1358) was signed into law in 2008. AB 1358 requires any substantive revision of the circulation element of a city or county’s general plan to identify how the jurisdiction will safely accommodate the circulation of all users of the roadway including pedestrians, bicyclists, children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and transit riders, as well as motorists. The current Port Hueneme General Plan was adopted prior to the Complete Streets Act. Additional discussion of AB 1358 is provided in section 3.9, Complete Streets. General Plan Background Report 1 Senate Bill 743 Signed into law in 2013, SB 743 is intended to ensure that traffic-related environmental impacts such as noise, air pollution, and safety continue to be properly addressed and mitigated through CEQA, while balancing the needs of congestion management with statewide goals to promote infill development and active transportation, and the reduction of GHG emissions. SB 743 eliminates level of service (LOS)/delay measurements from CEQA transportation analyses and establishes vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as the new metric for measuring transportation impacts. Draft changes to Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines were published in November 2017. Full compliance went into effect on January 1, 2020, when the CEQA Guidelines became applicable statewide. VMT analyses are required during preparation of CEQA documents as of July 1, 2020. The incorporation of VMT analysis into the environmental review process will better demonstrate the holistic impact of a project on factors associated with vehicle miles, such as emissions of air quality and greenhouse gasses. Assessing a project’s impact on VMT will also indicate the need for potential mitigation to reduce the amount of vehicle miles it generates. Regional Southern California Association of Governments Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy SCAG is a Joint Powers Authority founded in 1965, established as an association of local governments and agencies to address regional issues. The SCAG region encompasses six counties, including all of Ventura County. SCAG is designated as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) under federal law, and as a Regional Transportation Planning Agency and a Council of Governments under state law. In accordance with SB 375 (2008), SCAG is required by state law as an MPO to include a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) in its Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The purpose of the SCS is to demonstrate how the jurisdictions in the SCAG region will meet state GHG targets for reducing GHG emissions from motor vehicle trips. This can be achieved by integrating land use and transportation planning to lower VMT from autos and light trucks, thereby lowering GHG emissions. SCAG adopted its most recent RTP/SCS in 2016, with a new RTP/SCS scheduled to be adopted in 2020. The RTP/SCS charts the long range vision of regional transportation throughout the SCAG region, including Ventura County and Port Hueneme, and identifies existing transportation-related needs, while also considering all modes of travel, analyzing alternative solutions, and identifying what can be completed with anticipated available funding for the region. Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan The Ventura County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) is a long-range policy document adopted in 2013 by the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). The goals of the CTP are provide a framework for community-based planning and collaboration that will be used to inform future Ventura County’s long-range transportation decisions and to identify funding strategies from federal, state, regional and local sources. 2 Port Hueneme General Plan Background Report Circulation and Mobility 3.3 Roadways and Functional Classifications Regional Road Network The most important interregional roadways within the Ventura County are US Highway 101 and the state highways, such as State Route (SR) 23 and SR 33, which traverse the county from north to south, in addition to SR 118 and SR 126, which run east to west through the county. SR 1 diverges from Highway 101 in Oxnard and is located to the east of the City. These highways are not within the city limits of Port Hueneme. The highways closest to the City are Highway 101, approximately four miles to the north, and Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1), approximately 3 miles east. Port Hueneme Roadway Network Port Hueneme’s roadway network is urban in nature and is surrounded by a mix of rural and urban roads leading into the City. Port Hueneme’s roadway classifications are described below. Functional Roadway Classifications The roadway system in Port Hueneme is defined using a hierarchy of roadway types that differentiate the function of each roadway link. These are referred to as facility-type categories, which include three classifications ranging from major arterial with the highest capacity through local streets with the lowest capacity. Each of the classifications is described below, followed by Figure 3-1which shows roadway classifications (Ventura County 2019a). ▪ Major Arterials: These are primary circulation facilities which distribute and collect freeway bound traffic, accommodate intra-city trips, and serve other medium distance movements. By connecting major activity centers and the highest traffic volume corridors, arterials provide a network of continuous routes, facilitating both local and regional travel. Port Hueneme Road, Ventura Road, Channel Islands Boulevard and Victoria Avenue are major arterials. ▪ Secondary Arterials: These distribute and collect traffic generated in the area bounded by major arterials. Pleasant Valley Road and Patterson Road are secondary arterials. ▪ Collector Roadway: The main purpose of collectors is to provide local access to the overall roadway network. Collectors channel traffic from local roadways into the arterial network. Hemlock Street, Pearson Road, Bard Road, Clara Street and Surfside Drive are collector roadways. ▪ Local Streets: Local roadways provide direct access to the abutting land and primarily facilitate local travel. Local roadways are not intended for long distance travel and are often designed to discourage through traffic. There are no restrictions on intersections or public access. General Plan Background Report 3 Figure 3-1 Roadway Classifications 4 Port Hueneme General Plan Background Report Circulation and Mobility 3.4 Transportation System Performance An analysis of traffic volumes on the roadway network provides an understanding of the vehicular traffic conditions in Port Hueneme. Traffic Capacity Level of Service (LOS) Level Of Service is a qualitative assessment of an intersection’s performance based on traffic volumes and roadway capacity. An intersection is characterized by a letter grade ranging from A to F, where LOS A represents free flow conditions and LOS F represents forced flow or breakdown conditions. The LOS rating is also accompanied by the level of delay. Table 3-1 shows LOS criteria in terms of seconds of delay at all way stop and signalized intersections. As described in the existing Circulation Element, an LOS rating between A and C during the AM or PM Peak