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Traffic and congestion are key issues in Santa Monica. We urge you to read our letter to the City Council, below, and send your own e-mails, letters, and make phone calls to the Council urging them to fund a new traffic impact methodology and begin collecting the traffic data now. You can use our e-post office if you'd like (look left).
Our own, independent, highly respected environmental experts on our Environmental Task Force, as well as nationally recognized experts in the traffic impact field, are all in agreement. They all agree Santa Monica needs to develop a new, better traffic impact methodology to measure the traffic we currently experience and projected future "growth" traffic from future developments. We believe this vital work should begin NOW with a modest amount of the ample surplus budget funds available.
Please add your voices too!
April 4, 2006
Dear City Council,
A year ago, the Council and the Planning Commission held a valuable " think tank" session with leading outside traffic experts to discuss a new traffic impact methodology for Santa Monica. At the March 15, 2005 hearing, the one issue that everyone agreed on was that our current traffic impact methodology that measures the level of service at certain intersections only at peak hours does not provide an accurate indication of city-wide traffic impacts.
This current methodology fails to measure traffic impacts that occur throughout the day in and around our city. Further, it fails to accurately predict future traffic impacts resulting from future growth. The Council strongly indicated its commitment to a better methodology to measure cumulative traffic impacts to guide responsible decisions about growth. It was also clear that the Council wanted the Emerging Themes analysis of residents' values and goals to be completed to facilitate the implementation of a new traffic impact methodology. That information now exists.
Accordingly, two months ago, the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City ("SMCLC")urged the city to set aside $200,000 from our city's budget surplus to fund an outside study for a new traffic impact methodology. A copy of our request is attached. We understand that the city is still weighing which of the various proposals to allocate funds from the approximately $2.2 million surplus.
SMCLC is very pleased to learn that recently, the widely respected Santa Monica Task Force on the Environment met and unanimously adopted a resolution to the City Council, also recommending that the Council " allocate additional resources to allow city staff to expedite study of alternate traffic impact methodologies and to begin collecting baseline traffic and congestion data for the city."
This recommendation is significant. It followed a lengthy discussion by our own leading environmental experts on the key issue ---whether the development of the baseline traffic and congestion data for the city should begin now or whether it should be delayed until the land-use and circulation elements of the city's general plan are finalized.
After carefully considering the issue, the Environmental Task Force unanimously agrees with SMCLC's position that this project be considered an urgent priority and therefore expedited and properly funded with the ample resources now at hand.
The Environmental Task Force's recommendation further reinforces SMCLC's position that the city should begin to collect the vital baseline traffic and congestion data now and meet with outside experts to study alternate traffic impact methodologies.
Thank you.
Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City