Traffic / Circulation / Parking
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IV. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS C. TRAFFIC / CIRCULATION / PARKING This section addresses the potential impacts of the proposed pipeline for both Phases 1 and 2 of the Project with regard to traffic on the surrounding street system during construction and on-going operations, including on- and off-street parking, access to transit service as well as pedestrian and bicycle circulation. The information and analysis in this section (except where footnoted otherwise) is based on the Transportation Report, (the “Traffic Report”), dated June, 2007, prepared for the proposed pipeline by Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants. This section is a summary of that report and includes an evaluation of the traffic conditions on the existing street network surrounding the proposed pipeline. The Traffic Report, which is incorporated herein by this reference, is included as Appendix E to this Draft EIR. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING The proposed pipeline is approximately 24 miles in length and would begin at the Vopak Inland Terminal, a tank farm and storage facility in the Wilmington area of the City of Los Angeles. In Phase 1 of the Project, leaving Vopak the pipeline would travel north along Alameda Street to the Watson Pump Station in the City of Carson, passing LAXFUEL’s off-airport storage facility at the Kinder Morgan Carson and Shell Carson terminals. In Phase 2, from the Watson Pump Station, the pipeline would then continue north along Wilmington Avenue passing through the communities of Carson, unincorporated Los Angeles County, Compton, additional areas within the City of Los Angeles as well as the cities of Gardena and Hawthorne before entering the LAX property, traversing twenty (20) separate roadways. The proposed pipeline would terminate at LAXFUEL’s tank farm located within the LAX facility itself. The affected jurisdictions and their roadways for which the rights-of-way (“ROW”) would be affected under construction of the Project are shown in Table 16 and Table 17, Affected Jurisdictions and Roadways. Specifically, the proposed jet fuel pipeline route would pass through six jurisdictions, including the cities of Los Angeles, Carson, Compton, Gardena, and Hawthorne, and unincorporated Los Angeles County, between its origin in Wilmington and terminus at LAX. With the exception of railroad crossings and linkages across the Dominguez Channel and LAX property, the proposed pipeline would be located within the alignments of public streets and highways. Existing Conditions Existing Roadway System The regional freeway and highway system within the vicinity of the proposed pipeline consists of an interconnected network of local streets, arterial streets, freeways and carpool lanes that allows for the operation of private autos, carpools, private and public buses, and trucks. The network of freeways and state highways supports high-capacity limited-access travel, whereas the arterial network provides high levels of signalized street capacity and serves as a feeder system for the regional freeways and local street system. The freeway and highway system is the primary means of regional travel, providing for direct vehicular access to employment, services, and goods. Given the geographic breadth of the proposed pipeline, this background on the regional roadway system is provided to identify areas where impacts could occur. Smart Energy Transport System IV.C Traffic / Circulation / Parking Draft Environmental Impact Report Page 173 City of Los Angeles December 2007 Table 16 Affected Roadways and Jurisdictions – Phase 1 Affected Roadway Roadway Segment Total Length Jurisdictions Vopak Site Roadway - 1,770 feet City of Los Angeles Grant Street Leeds Ave. to Alameda St. 2,331 feet City of Los Angeles Grant St. to Lomita Blvd. 5,290 feet City of Los Angeles Alameda Street Lomita Blvd. to Dominguez St. 12,680 feet City of Carson Dominguez Street Alameda St. to Wilmington Ave. 3,700 feet City of Carson Wilmington Avenue Dominguez St. to Del Amo Blvd. 2,850 feet City of Carson Source: TRC Solutions, May 2007. Table 17 Affected Roadways and Jurisdictions – Phase 2 Affected Roadway Roadway Segment Total Length Jurisdictions Del Amo Blvd. to Victoria St. Unincorporated Los 7,920 feet (approx.) Angeles County Wilmington Avenue Victoria St. (approx.) to Artesia 2,500 feet City of Compton Blvd. Artesia Boulevard Wilmington Ave. to Anderson Ave. 1,900 feet City of Compton Anderson Avenue Artesia Blvd. to Walnut St. 700 feet City of Compton Anderson Ave. to Central Ave. 1,200 feet City of Compton Walnut Street Central Ave. to Avalon Blvd. 5,200 feet City of Carson Walnut Ave. to Alondra Blvd. 4,200 feet City of Carson Avalon Boulevard Unincorporated Los Alondra Blvd. to San Pedro St. 630 feet Angeles County Unincorporated Los San Pedro Street Avalon Blvd. to Compton Blvd. 2,800 feet Angeles County Unincorporated Los Compton Boulevard San Pedro St. to Broadway St. 4,775 feet Angeles County Compton Blvd. to Redondo Beach Unincorporated Los Figueroa Street 730 feet Blvd. Angeles County Redondo Beach Figueroa St. to Vermont Ave. 2,635 feet City of Los Angeles Boulevard Redondo Beach Blvd. to Rosecrans Vermont Avenue 3,430 feet City of Los Angeles Ave. Rosecrans Avenue Vermont Ave. to Crenshaw Blvd. 10515 feet City of Gardena Rosecrans Ave. to 135th St. 2,635 feet City of Hawthorne Unincorporated Los Crenshaw Boulevard 135th St. to 132nd St. 1,320 feet Angeles County 132nd St. to 120th St. 3,850 feet City of Hawthorne 120th Street Crenshaw Blvd. to Hawthorne Blvd. 7,775 feet City of Hawthorne Hawthorne Boulevard 120th St. to Imperial Hwy. 2,650 feet City of Hawthorne Hawthorne Blvd. to I-405 5,300 feet City of Hawthorne Imperial Highway I-405 to LAX surface road 15,770 feet City of Los Angeles LAX Surface Roads - 5,300 feet City of Los Angeles Source: TRC Solutions, May 2007. Smart Energy Transport System IV.C Traffic / Circulation / Parking Draft Environmental Impact Report Page 174 City of Los Angeles December 2007 State Highways The following freeways extend through the vicinity of the proposed pipeline system: San Diego Freeway (Interstate-405) The key north-south transportation roadway on the west side of Los Angeles, this freeway generally provides five travel lanes per direction, plus additional lanes at ramps or interchanges. The San Diego Freeway serves the entire western portion of the Los Angeles basin, including LAX. Connecting Los Angeles to south Orange County, it is heavily traveled by commuters and freight haulers along its entire length and is known as one of the busiest and most congested freeways in the county. Through the Project area, the San Diego Freeway runs nearly 12.5 miles from Interstate-105 (Imperial Highway/Century Freeway) to Alameda Street in the City of Carson. Harbor Freeway (Interstate-110) The Harbor Freeway is one of the principal north-south freeways in the County and runs from Gaffey Street in San Pedro to the Hollywood Freeway (Interstate-101) in downtown Los Angeles, north of which it continues as the Pasadena Freeway (a.k.a. the Historic Arroyo Seco Parkway). In the Project area, the I-110 provides five travel lanes per each direction, plus additional lanes at ramps and interchanges, including dedicated HOV lanes in both directions. Century Freeway (Interstate-105) The Century Freeway runs east-west in southern Los Angeles County. The Interstate-105 is often referred to as the Century Freeway, but is officially known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway for the Congressman who advocated its construction. The freeway’s common name derives from nearby Century Boulevard, which parallels its route. The Century Freeway begins at Sepulveda Boulevard (State Route 1) on the southern edge of LAX, adjacent to the city of El Segundo. It proceeds eastward from there crossing the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers before terminating just east of the San Gabriel River Freeway (Interstate-605) in Norwalk. In addition to being below grade for most of its route, the Century Freeway is also notable for the Los Angeles Metro Rail Green Line that runs along its center median. In the Project area, the I-105 is primarily an eight-lane freeway, including dedicated HOV lanes in both directions. State Route 91 (SR-91) State Route 91 also referred to as SR-91, is a major east-west highway serving several regions within the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Its eastern terminus is located in the City of Riverside at the junction with State Route 60 where the Pomona Freeway (to the west), the Moreno Valley Freeway (to the east), the Escondido Freeway, Interstate-215(to the north and southeast) all intersect. Its western terminus is at Vermont Avenue in Gardena as it turns into Artesia Boulevard. In the Project area, the 91 freeway is an 8-lane freeway, that becomes an eight lane arterial once it turns into Artesia Boulevard. Smart Energy Transport System IV.C Traffic / Circulation / Parking Draft Environmental Impact Report Page 175 City of Los Angeles December 2007 Surface Roads Surface roads within the vicinity of the proposed pipeline are described below: Grant Street Grant Street is a short east-west two-lane local roadway that serves the adjacent industrial uses. The proposed pipeline follows Grant Street for a short segment east of Alameda Street before it connects to the Vopak Terminal. Alameda Street Alameda Street is a four- to six-lane divided roadway that travels north-south within the Project area. The proposed pipeline follows Alameda Street before turning west near Dominguez Street in northeast Carson. In the Project vicinity, on-street parking is prohibited on both sides of Alameda Street and the posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour. Dominguez Street Dominguez Street is a two- to four-lane, east-west street that is perpendicular to Alameda Street in northwest Carson. Dominguez Street in the Project area is less than one mile long running from Wilmington Avenue on the west and stopping at the railroad tracks before intersecting with Alameda Street.