3.13 Transportation, Traffic, Circulation, and Parking San Francisco VA Medical Center 3.13 TRANSPORTATION, TRAFFIC, CIRCULATION, AND PARKING This section summarizes the traffic, transportation, circulation, and parking impacts, including transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and loading impacts, that are projected to result from implementation of the EIS Alternatives. A detailed transportation impact analysis was prepared and is included in Appendix E. 3.13.1 Affected Environment Regional and Local Access Existing Fort Miley Campus The existing SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus is a 29-acre site located in northwestern San Francisco. The site is positioned along the north side of Clement Street, with access points at 42nd Avenue and 43rd Avenue (Figure 3.13-1). Regional and local access points to and from the existing Campus are summarized below. Regional Access State Route (SR) 1, U.S. Highway 101 (U.S. 101), Interstate 80 (I-80), and Interstate 280 (I-280) provide regional access to and from the existing SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus. East Bay Regional vehicular access to and from the East Bay is provided primarily by I-80 and the Bay Bridge, with on- and off-ramps at First Street/Fremont Street/Essex Street/Bryant Street in Rincon Hill, Fourth Street/Fifth Street in the central South of Market Area, and Seventh Street/Eighth Street in the western South of Market Area. Alternative access to I-80 is provided via U.S. 101 and the U.S. 101/I-80 interchange, which can be accessed via the Central Freeway ramps at Mission Street/South Van Ness Avenue or the U.S. 101 terminus at Market Street/ Octavia Boulevard. Vehicles would be expected to use major local arterials such as Geary Boulevard/O’Farrell Street, Turk Boulevard/Golden Gate Avenue, or Fell Street/Oak Street to travel between the SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus and these ramps. South Bay Regional vehicular access to and from the South Bay is provided primarily by SR 1—operating through most of the San Francisco city limits as a surface arterial (19th Avenue/Park Presidio Boulevard)—and I-280. Access to SR 1 is provided primarily via the Park Presidio Boulevard/Geary Boulevard intersection, and vehicles would be expected to use Geary Boulevard to travel between the Campus and SR 1. Access to I-280 is provided via its interchange with SR 1 (Junipero Serra Boulevard) near John Daly Boulevard in Daly City, or via SR 35 (Skyline Boulevard/Sloat Boulevard). If using SR 35, access to the Campus is provided via the Great Highway and Point Lobos Avenue, or alternatively via Sunset Boulevard, Chain of Lakes Drive, and 43rd Avenue. Long Range Development Plan 3.13-1 Supplemental Draft EIS San Francisco VA Medical Center 3.13 Transportation, Traffic, Circulation, and Parking Source: VA, 2014c Figure 3.13-1: Location of Proposed Action 3.13-2 Long Range Development Plan Supplemental Draft EIS 3.13 Transportation, Traffic, Circulation, and Parking San Francisco VA Medical Center North Bay Regional vehicular access to and from the North Bay is provided by SR 1 (Park Presidio Boulevard in the vicinity of the Campus), 25th Avenue/Lincoln Boulevard, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Access to SR 1 or 25th Avenue/ Lincoln Boulevard is provided via the Park Presidio Boulevard/Geary Boulevard and 25th Avenue/Geary Boulevard intersections, and vehicles would be expected to use Geary Boulevard to travel between the Campus and SR 1 or 25th Avenue. Local Access As part of the San Francisco General Plan, the City and County of San Francisco identifies several types of roadway networks: the Congestion Management Program network, the Metropolitan Transportation System network, Transit Preferential Streets, and the Citywide Pedestrian Network. Local roadways serving the existing SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus and their functional designations in the San Francisco General Plan are described in more detail below. Clement Street Clement Street is an east-west collector road running from 45th Avenue in the west (where it continues as Seal Rock Drive to El Camino del Mar and Lands End) to Arguello Boulevard in the east. In the vicinity of the Campus, Clement Street is two-way with one travel lane in each direction. On-street parking is provided on both sides of the street, with restrictions during street cleaning periods. Geary Boulevard Geary Boulevard is a major east-west roadway that runs from 48th Avenue and Sutro Heights Park in the west (with a branch connecting to Point Lobos Avenue at 39th Avenue/40th Avenue) to Gough Street in the east, where it continues as the one-way couplet of O’Farrell Street (eastbound) and Geary Street (westbound) to Market Street in downtown San Francisco. In the vicinity of the Campus, Geary Boulevard is two-way with two to three travel lanes in each direction. On-street parking is provided on both sides of the street, with restrictions during street cleaning periods. The San Francisco General Plan identifies Geary Boulevard as a Major Arterial in the Congestion Management Program network through the study area. Geary Boulevard is also classified as a Metropolitan Transportation System roadway, a Neighborhood Commercial Street, and a Transit Preferential (Transit-Important) Street. Point Lobos Avenue Point Lobos Avenue is a major east-west roadway running from the Cliff House and Ocean Beach in the west (where it continues as the Great Highway south to Daly City) to 39th Avenue and 40th Avenue, where Point Lobos Avenue merges with Geary Boulevard. On-street parking is provided on both sides of the street. The San Francisco General Plan identifies Point Lobos Avenue as a Transit Conflict Street in the Congestion Management Program network through the study area. Point Lobos Avenue is also classified as a Metropolitan Transportation System recreational street. Long Range Development Plan 3.13-3 Supplemental Draft EIS San Francisco VA Medical Center 3.13 Transportation, Traffic, Circulation, and Parking 34th Avenue 34th Avenue is a north-south collector road running from El Camino del Mar (near Lincoln Park and the Legion of Honor) to Fulton Street and Golden Gate Park. A separate section of 34th Avenue, functioning primarily as a local road, runs from Lincoln Way on the south side of Golden Gate Park to Sloat Boulevard. In the vicinity of the Campus, 34th Avenue is two-way with one travel lane in each direction. On-street parking is provided on both sides of the street, with restrictions during street cleaning periods. 42nd Avenue and 43rd Avenue 42nd Avenue and 43rd Avenue are north-south collector roads running from Clement Street in the north to Fulton Street and Golden Gate Park in the south. 42nd Avenue continues through Golden Gate Park as Chain of Lakes Drive, connecting with 41st Avenue at Lincoln Way and continuing south to Sloat Boulevard. A separate section of 41st Avenue also runs south of Golden Gate Park, but there is no direct connection through the park. In the immediate vicinity of the SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus, 42nd Avenue and 43rd Avenue are both two-way streets, with one travel lane in each direction, and serve as the two main access points to the Campus. On-street parking is provided on both sides of 42nd Avenue and 43rd Avenue, with restrictions during street cleaning periods. Fort Miley Circle and Veterans Drive Fort Miley Circle and Veterans Drive are the two primary roadways within the SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus, providing access to buildings and other facilities on the Campus. Both are generally two-way roadways with one travel lane in each direction, except for the section of Fort Miley Circle from Building 203 in the east to Veterans Drive in the west, which is one-way westbound. Veterans Drive connects into the Campus’s two main access points at the 43rd Avenue/Clement Street and 42nd Avenue/Clement Street intersections. Potential New Mission Bay Campus With regard to Alternative 3, the “Mission Bay” area is assumed to comprise the geographical extent shown in Figure 2-5. Regional Access U.S. 101, I-80, and I-280 provide regional access to and from the Mission Bay area. Local Access Major east-west arterials providing local access to and from the Mission Bay area are Market, Mission, Howard/ Folsom, Harrison/Bryant, King, 16th, and Cesar Chavez Streets. Major north-south arterials providing local access to and from the Mission Bay area are The Embarcadero; Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and 10th Streets; and Van Ness Avenue. 3.13-4 Long Range Development Plan Supplemental Draft EIS 3.13 Transportation, Traffic, Circulation, and Parking San Francisco VA Medical Center Traffic Existing SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus Five study intersections were selected for analysis, representing locations that are the most relevant for capturing traffic flow effects related to operation of the existing SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus: 1. 34th Avenue/Clement Street 2. 42nd Avenue/Clement Street 3. 43rd Avenue/Clement Street 4. 42nd Avenue/Point Lobos Avenue 5. 43rd Avenue/Point Lobos Avenue The locations of these study intersections in relation to the SFVAMC Fort Miley Campus are illustrated in Figure 3.13-2. Traffic counts for each study intersection were collected during the weekday p.m. peak period (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) on a nonholiday, fair-weather weekday while school was in session (Tuesday, February 15, 2011) (Appendix E). The intersection analysis focuses on conditions during the weekday p.m. peak hour—defined as the peak 1 hour (four consecutive 15-minute intervals) of the weekday p.m. peak period—and uses the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) methodology, which is based on level of service (LOS).1 The LOS methodology is a qualitative description of the performance of an intersection based on average delay per vehicle.