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Area Plans or Specific Plans for the project in the City of Inglewood

3.4. Area Plans or Specific Plans

This section addresses projects such as Area or Land Use Plans or Specific Plans.

3.4.1. VMT Estimating Tools

Projects like Area or Land Use Plans or Specific Plans that can significantly increase VMT should be evaluated for transportation impacts under CEQA using the estimation tools provided in Section 3.2.2. Applicants should coordinate with the Public Works Department regarding methodology, assumptions, tools to be used, and impact criteria.

3.4.2. VMT Methodology & Evaluation; Metrics and Significant Impact Thresholds

Utilizing the travel demand models listed in the VMT estimation tools in Section 3.2.2 and approved by the Public Works Department, the project applicant or consultant should estimate daily vehicle trips, daily VMT, and daily VMT per service population. The service population should be estimated by aggregating the total number of residential population and employees within the project area, land use plan, or specific plan area.

Project Impact Metrics
Daily VMT per service population metric includes two major data inputs:

  1. A set of vehicle trip tables (including all vehicle trips by mode and time of day) that contain the number of trips between each zone in the model.
  2. A set of highway distance skims (by vehicle mode and time of day) that allows trip distances for each Origin-Destination (OD) pair to be based on congested travel time, speed, and cost from the highway assignment.

The VMT matrices are prepared by multiplying the final OD trip tables with the corresponding highway distance skims (by vehicle mode and time of day) and aggregating the time period VMTs to obtain total daily VMTs. Utilizing the service population, the daily VMT per service population for the project should be prepared.

Cumulative Impact Metric
Land use plans that both (1) demonstrate a project impact by applying an efficiency-based VMT threshold and (2) are deemed inconsistent with the SCAG RTP/SCS, could have a significant cumulative impact on VMT. Further evaluation is necessary to determine whether such a land use plan's cumulative impact on VMT is significant. This analysis could be evaluated by running the SCAG RTP/SCS Travel Demand Forecasting model with the cumulative "no project" scenario representing the adopted RTP/SCS horizon year conditions and the cumulative "plus project" scenario representing the reallocation of population and/or employment growth based on the land supply changes associated with the proposed project. Citywide VMT, household VMT per capita, work VMT per employee, or VMT per service population (depending on project type) would be calculated for both scenarios. Any increase above the forecast in the adopted RTP/SCS would constitute a cumulative significant impact because it could jeopardize regional air quality conformity or GHG reduction findings.

Significant Impact Thresholds
If the Plan total VMT per service population is not at least 15% below the existing (baseline) VMT per service population citywide in Inglewood, then a significant transportation impact would occur.

3.4.3. Mitigations

Land Use Plan or Specific Plan projects that cause VMT impacts should consider the following potential mitigation measures:

  • Enhancing the public transit system and/or connections to the system, including active transportation mode improvements, such as infrastructure improvements, programs, or education and marketing.
  • Reallocating future land use development to increase land use variety and density in transportation-efficient locations (e.g., proximity to jobs and housing, proximity to transit, proximity to services).
  • Implementing measures to encourage reduced reliance on automobile trips and promote transit and active transportation modes.

3.5. Geometric Design Hazards

Impacts regarding potential hazards due to geometric design features generally relate to the design of access points to and from the project site and may include safety, operational, or capacity impacts. These conflicts may involve vehicle/vehicle, vehicle/bicycle, or vehicle/pedestrian interactions, as well as operational delays caused by vehicles slowing and/or queuing to access a project site. Conflicts may arise from driveway configurations or the placement of project driveways in areas with inadequate visibility, adjacent to bicycle or pedestrian facilities, or too close to busy or congested intersections.

Evaluation of access impacts requires details relative to project land use, size, design, and location of access points. These impacts are typically evaluated for permanent conditions after project completion but can also be assessed for temporary conditions during construction. Project access can be analyzed qualitatively and/or quantitatively, in conjunction with reviewing internal site circulation and access to parking areas. Coordination with the Public Works Department is required.

Preliminary project access plans should be reviewed in light of commonly accepted traffic engineering design standards to identify any significant deficiencies. The determination of significance should be made on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as:

  • The relative amount of pedestrian activity at project access points.
  • Design features/physical configurations that affect the visibility of pedestrians and bicyclists to drivers entering and exiting the site, and the visibility of cars to pedestrians and bicyclists.
  • The type of bicycle facilities the project driveway(s) crosses and the relative level of utilization.
  • Physical conditions of the site and surrounding area, such as curves, slopes, walks, landscaping, or other barriers that could result in safety hazards.
  • Project location or project-related changes to the public right-of-way, including proximity to the Pedestrian Routes to School program area.
  • Any other conditions, including the approximate location of incompatible uses, that would substantially increase a transportation hazard.

Project Impacts
For vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian safety impacts, review all project access points, internal circulation, and parking access from an operational and safety perspective. Consider potential conflicts where project driveways would cross pedestrian or bicycle facilities (bike lanes or bike paths). In areas with moderate to high levels of pedestrian or bicycle activity, pedestrian or bicycle count data collection is required.

Cumulative Impacts
Review project site access plans for related projects with access points proposed along the same blocks as the proposed project. Determine the combined impact and the project's contribution.

Mitigations
Potential mitigation measures for project impacts due to geometric design hazards should be coordinated with the Public Works Department and may include:

  • Installation of traffic signals, stop signs, or electronic warning devices at site access points.
  • Redesign, reduction, and/or relocation of project access points.
  • Redesign of the internal (on-site) circulation system.
  • Installation of stop signs and pavement markings internal to the site.
  • Restricting or prohibiting turns at site access points.
  • Pavement markings that highlight potential conflict points, including marking/striping through bike lanes.

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