4.12 TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC 4.12.1 INTRODUCTION This section of the Draft EIR describes the transportation and circulation conditions in the area surrounding the project site, and identifies transportation impacts associated with the development of the California State University East Bay (CSUEB) Hayward campus (hereinafter Hayward campus) under the proposed Master Plan. The analysis focuses on potential impacts to intersections and roadway segments, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and transit service. Significant impacts are quantified and mitigation measures are identified to address these impacts, as necessary. All technical analyses related to this study are included in Appendix 4.12 Scoping comments received in response to the original and revised Notices of Preparation (NOPs) for this EIR requested that the EIR include the following: The EIR should address project impacts on the intersection of Campus Drive and Hayward Boulevard and at intersections along Mission Boulevard. The EIR should include the effects of the proposed project on the state highway system and the Congestion Management Program (CMP) facilities in the project area. The traffic impact study should include the project’s trip generation, distribution and assignment; average daily traffic and peak hour volumes at all significantly affected streets, highways, and intersections; analysis of existing plus project traffic; cumulative traffic impacts, and mitigation measures. The EIR should include measures to reduce motorized vehicle trips associated with the campus, including the use of TDM measures such as rideshare, flextime, transit, subsidized bus passes, bicycling, and telecommuting, and improved transit connections to BART stations (including Castro Valley BART station). The EIR should address impacts to the Metropolitan Transportation System (MTS) roadway and transit systems and the impacts must be addressed for 2015 and 2030 conditions. The EIR should consider opportunities to promote bicycle routes. The University needs to improve transit access to the campus and reduce the amount of parking that is provided in order to encourage alternative transportation. The University should evaluate economics of parking structures and the effect of parking charges on parking demand. The University should evaluate various aspects of bus transit including provision of rapid bus service and financing of bus service. The EIR should evaluate the level of service of transit. Impact Sciences, Inc. 4.12-1 CSU East Bay Hayward Campus Master Plan Draft EIR 0961.002 November 2008 4.12 Transportation and Traffic Parking structures are unacceptable and those need to be compared to transit. The University should consider a connection between Hayward Boulevard and East Loop Road as this connection would alleviate congestion on Carlos Bee and Hayward Boulevard. The City is considering realignment and reconstruction of the steepest portion of Carlos Bee Boulevard to address traffic safety. Additional traffic added by the proposed project could exacerbate this condition. All of the scoping comments pertinent to the project’s traffic impacts are addressed in the analysis below. Although year 2030 is the horizon year for the buildout of the campus under the proposed Master Plan, the intersection impacts were assessed against 2025 conditions, which is the horizon year of the City of Hayward Travel Demand Model. A separate roadway segment analysis, prepared to meet the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency’s requirements, was conducted for the years 2015 and 2030, using the Alameda Countywide Travel Demand Model. The traffic impact analysis does not account for the potential physical realignment of Carlos Bee Boulevard. However, if the City moves forward with this improvement project, it would benefit existing and future traffic flows, and the proposed Master Plan would not make such a project infeasible, based on the information available. The bicycle impact analysis acknowledges that the proposed Master Plan accommodates bicycles on site, but does not identify impacts on nor improvements needed to off-site bicycle routes, due to the low existing and projected future level of bicycle commuting to the campus, which results from the surrounding topography combined with typical commute trip lengths. The transit impact analysis is performed for year 2025, but does not analyze transit financing nor detailed operations options such as bus rapid transit, as these analyses are outside the scope of an EIR. The proposed Master Plan contains travel demand management policies and programs, including parking pricing management, to reduce vehicle trip generation and associated parking demand, with the overall goals of creating a more sustainable campus, The costs of constructing and operating a parking structure and parking charges affect the feasibility of building such a structure, but not the environmental impact analysis per se so therefore that discussion is not included in this Draft EIR. Travel demand is generated primarily by enrollment. Construction of a parking structure provides a means to use campus land more efficiently to meet travel demand that still remains after transportation demand management (TDM) measures have been implemented. For an evaluation of why transit would not serve as a full alternative to the proposed parking structure, please see Section 3.0 in Volume 2. Impact Sciences, Inc. 4.12-2 CSU East Bay Hayward Campus Master Plan Draft EIR 0961.002 November 2008 4.12 Transportation and Traffic The proposed Master Plan includes the framework of a transportation demand management (TDM) program and identifies a series of measures that the Campus will consider for inclusion in a TDM program that it will develop, adopt, and implement to minimize the number of single-occupant vehicle trips that would be added by campus growth to the study area road network. Two measures, flextime and telecommuting, already apply to the majority of the campus population—students and faculty— because their schedules vary from term to term and many study or do course preparation and grading at home. Some administrative staff positions also have flexible hours, as appropriate to their work assignments. 4.12.2 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 4.12.2.1 Existing Roadway System Figure 4.12-1, Site Location Map and Study Intersection Locations, shows the traffic study area. The Hayward campus is located in Hayward, California, about two miles southeast of downtown. The campus is directly served by Carlos Bee Boulevard and Harder Road, both of which connect to Mission Boulevard, which is State Route (SR) 238 in the campus vicinity. Regional access to the campus is provided by I-580 to the north, and I-880 and SR 92 to the west. The following describes the key highways and roadways in the study area. Freeways Interstate 580 (I-580) is a six-lane freeway connecting Hayward to the Contra Costa Tri-Valley and San Joaquin Valley to the east, and Oakland/Berkeley to the north. Interstate 880 (I-880) is a four- to five-lane freeway running north-south through the project area, connecting Hayward to San Jose in Santa Clara County and to Oakland to the north, and to San Francisco and points north of Oakland, via I-80. SR 238 (SR 238) is a short, four-lane freeway connection between I-580 and I-880, near Hayward’s north border. SR 238 continues as a non-freeway facility on Foothill Boulevard and Mission Boulevard south of Foothill in Hayward. State Route 92 (SR 92) is a six-lane freeway starting at I-880 and continuing west, connecting Hayward to San Mateo via the Hayward-San Mateo bridge. Impact Sciences, Inc. 4.12-3 CSU East Bay Hayward Campus Master Plan Draft EIR 0961.002 November 2008 4.12 Transportation and Traffic Local Roadways Foothill Boulevard is a six-lane arterial connecting I-580 to Mission Boulevard on downtown Hayward. Foothill Boulevard is Route 238 along this section. Mission Boulevard is a four-lane arterial connecting East 14th Street and Oakland to the north to I-880 to the south in Fremont. In the study area, Mission Boulevard is SR 185 between East 14th and Foothill, and SR 238 south of Foothill. Hayward Boulevard is four-lane arterial connecting the Hayward hills to Carlos Bee Boulevard at the campus entrance. Carlos Bee Boulevard is a four-lane arterial connecting the campus to Mission Boulevard, and providing a route to SR 92 via Orchard Avenue and Soto Road. Harder Road is a four-lane arterial connecting the campus to SR 92 at Santa Clara Street. Tennyson Road is a four-lane arterial connecting Mission Boulevard to Industrial Avenue, providing access to I-880 at a full-access interchange. East Loop Road is a four-lane campus road that runs along the eastern side of the developed campus core between approximately Campus Drive to the north and Harder Road to the south. West Loop Road is a four-lane campus road that runs along the western side of the campus core between Campus Drive to the north and Harder Road to the south. Campus Drive is a four-lane arterial to the north of the existing campus which connects Hayward Boulevard and 2nd Street. Impact Sciences, Inc. 4.12-4 CSU East Bay Hayward Campus Master Plan Draft EIR 0961.002 November 2008 Castro Valley Blvd 185 580 580 Redwood 238 Rd d6 R Grove Way Mattox Center St 7 F oo th B St il l B lv Mission Blvd d A St 238 D St 880 8 E St E Ave 9 2 nd St A St 10 5 B St hland ig Bl 238 H vd Campus Dr D St D D St D Jackson St 11 Hesperian Blvd 4 Ha arlos yw 12 C Be EastLoo a e B pRd rd 92 lv 1 B Winton Ave d 2 lv W d est Lo S o a Orchard Ave p n R t d a D C ob la b r 3 el a Av Dr S e ine t 13 l y Harder Rd k 15 PROJECT S Mission Blvd SITE 880 14 Legend: Jackson St W.