Opportunities & Challenges 4.1 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Emeryville is centrally located within the Bay Area and is traversed by a number of key regional transportation routes, notably the I-80 and I-580 freeways, San Pablo Avenue corridor, AC Transit bus lines, Amtrak Capitol Corridor rail lines and the San Francisco Bay Trail. These facilities connect Emeryville with the surrounding region. In addition, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has several stations a short distance from Emeryville, with shuttle bus service provided to the MacArthur Station by the Emery-Go-Round. Oakland International Airport is located just ten miles to the south, and San Francisco International Airport is 22 miles to the southwest. This existing transportation infrastructure creates substantial opportunities for Emeryville to capitalize on its central location and regional accessibility in attracting jobs, residents Transportation and investments. Key constraints include congested freeway conditions and internal barriers to east-west circulation caused 4- by the I-80 and the rail line. Emeryville residents demonstrate a relatively high use of transit and other non-automobile TRANSPORTATION modes of travel, including a surprisingly high rate of residents 4 that walk to work. Given the city’s large day-time population of workers and shoppers, much of the traffic in Emeryville is This chapter provides an overview of existing transportation generated by non-residents such as employees and shoppers. It conditions in Emeryville, placed within the context of the goals, is not surprising that reducing traffic impacts on quality-of-life policies and objectives outlined in the existing General Plan for residents and developing strategies to allow greater reliance originally adopted in 1987 and updated in 1993. The description on transit, walking and bicycling as modes of travel, have been of existing transportation conditions includes an analysis of raised as key goals during the General Plan update process. traffic operations at 48 study intersections and an overview of HISTORICAL GROWTH public transit, bicycle and pedestrian circulation. As with most cities, Emeryville’s development as a city was closely tied to the local transportation network. In 1871, city founder Joseph S. Emery financed the construction of the San Pablo Avenue Horse Cart Railroad, which connected Oakland to Emeryville. Emery was also one of the primary builders of the California-Nevada Railroad, which began in Oakland, crossed Emeryville General Plan Update Emeryville and terminated in Orinda. Ultimately, Emeryville F. Increase the capacity and efficiency of street intersections was incorporated as a city focused on its industrial and rail where needed. terminals. Even today, rail and freeway lines continue to define the city. G. Provide financing systems under which new development will share in the costs of needed street projects. EXISTING GENERAL PLAN H. Cooperate with Oakland and Berkeley to improve At the time the previous General Plan was developed, much of intersections in and around Emeryville that have an Emeryville’s land area was occupied by low-density industries. important effect on local traffic conditions. At that time, it was noted that the city’s central location at the junction of the major East Bay freeway routes near the I. Balance the advantages of curbside parking with the east end of the Bay Bridge made Emeryville one of the most need to maximize the traffic capacity of arterial streets. accessible locations in the Bay Area. The General Plan proposed achieving the potential for freeway access by improving the J. Provide off-street parking to encourage desired limited interchange ramps and inadequate street system. A key development and utilize off-street parking to encourage goal outlined in the General Plan was to establish a circulation a pedestrian oriented environment. system allowing for the free movement of persons and goods Transportation while “avoiding an over accommodation of vehicles at the K. Expand transit services and increase the use of public expense of land use and pedestrian movement.” The General transit in Emeryville. 4- Plan contained the following transportation objectives: L. Establish a citywide network of interconnected A. Provide for the safe, efficient and convenient circulation pedestrian and bicycle routes to provide access to the of people and goods to, from and within the city. major features, attractions and activities of the city, thus providing recreational benefits and reducing dependence B. Cooperate with responsible agencies in developing a on automobiles. regional transportation plan. M. Promote a variety of techniques to utilize the existing C. Provide a circulation system capable of accommodating transportation network more efficiently and to reduce the land uses and densities proposed in the plan and single-occupant automobiles during peak hours. portrayed in the Land Use Plan. Key deficiencies identified in the previous General Plan include D. Seek reconfiguration of the freeway system (I-80 the limited number of through streets, as only Powell Street Eastshore and I-580 MacArthur Freeways) to increase in the east-west direction and Hollis Street in the north-south their service to Emeryville users while minimizing any direction offer direct routes across the city, and safety concerns, concurrent impacts. particularly in the area where San Pablo Avenue, MacArthur Boulevard and Adeline Street merge. Emeryville’s network of E. Undertake and complete the street development and short, discontinuous street segments was noted to result in local improvement projects portrayed on the Circulation streets being inappropriately used as truck routes. Plan. Opportunities & Challenges RECENT TRENDS The tremendous surge in commercial development in the past ten years is testament to Emeryville’s success in achieving key General Plan goals to take advantage of the city’s central location in the Bay Area and proximity to regional transportation facilities. The City, however, has not been successful in avoiding an over accommodation of vehicles at the expense of pedestrian movement. While transit use among residents of Emeryville increased during the 1990s, Emeryville’s transportation network is still not conducive to pedestrian and bicycle travel in many places. Travel Modes 2000 U.S. Census provides Journey to Work data that indicates the travel mode to and from work for Emeryville residents and nonresident employees. As shown by Table 4-1, in 2000 about 54 Transportation percent of Emeryville’s residents drove alone to work (Bay Area average 68 percent), while 75 percent of commuters employed 4- in Emeryville drove alone to work. The city’s rate of transit use and walking to work was substantially higher than the Bay Area average. This is influenced by the substantial proportion of Emeryville residents that are employed in San Francisco, Berkeley or Oakland. Nonresidents employed in Emeryville tend to live in more dispersed locations and are less likely to use transit. Table 4-2 shows the place of employment for residents and place of residence for nonresident employees, based on 2000 U.S. Census data for home-based work trips. Approximately 28 percent of Emeryville residents work within the city. Of the 72 percent that worked elsewhere, Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley were top destinations. While this data portrays a relatively balanced transportation system for residents, heavier automobile usage and less transit use is noted in the travel patterns of the population of workers that swell the city’s daytime population. Key factors limiting a greater shift in Alternatives to automobile transportation are available and used in Emeryville. Emeryville General Plan Update travel to transit and other modes include: Table 4-1: Journey to Work by Mode of Travel for Residents Working Outside Emeryville and Nonresident Employees in • Non-resident employees live in dispersed locations that Emeryville are not always efficiently served by transit, Mode of Travel Emeryville Residents Emeryville Bay Area • Trip linkage needs (such as home to day-care to work to Working in Working Nonresident Average shop, etc.) make shifts to other modes more difficult, Emeryville Outside Employees Emeryville Working in • Free parking provided by employers in many Emeryville Emeryville locations, as well as free all day parking along many streets, Drive alone 37% 60% 79% 68% • Quality of pedestrian experience, Carpool 5% 10% 12% 13% • Perceived need for flexibility, and Transit 10% 27% 7% 10% • Perceived convenience and quality of transit service. Walk 20% 0% 0% 3% Worked at home 25% 0% 0% 4% Recent Planning Efforts Bicycle 1% 1 % 1 % 1% Transportation In 1995, the Park Avenue District Plan was prepared to include Motorcycle 1% 1 % 1 % 0% design guidelines and policies to revitalize Emeryville’s historic Other 1% 1 % 0 % 1% 4-4 center. While growth in Emeryville has led to substantial Note: due to rounding, values may not total 100 percent and values less than 0.5 percent are investment in the district, street improvements envisioned by shown as zero. plan have yet to be implemented. Currently, the plan is being Source: U.S. Census. updated to reflect recent conditions, improve multi-modal circulation and address streetscape issues. The following policies Table 4-2: Home Based Work Trips for the district are described in the current draft of the updated To or From: Emeryville Residents Emeryville plan: Nonresident 1. Provide sidewalks on all