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6.3.10 TRANSPORTATION Transportation needs will continue to drive a substantial portion of land use planning and community development in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. While efforts are continually being made to address regional, interregional, and local transportation needs,the volume of increased vehicular traffic necessitates ongoing new construction and improvements to the existing roadway network, including interstate highways and interchanges. The potential impacts on freeway traffic volumes represent the most significant cumulative long-term regional transportation impacts.Use of interstate roadways for travel—whether for working commutes, commercial freight transport, retail business services, or personal recreation—has increased over time and is expected to continue to increase as the population of the region continually increases.Already,major interstates through the San - Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys are congested on a daily basis(during the morning and evening commutes) and support a consistently high base flow of traffic. The traffic analysis described under Impact 4.11-1 in Section 4.11,"Transportation,"evaluates the anticipated contributions of the proposed College Park buildout to the traffic and roadway-network conditions projected to occur in 2025 without the proposed College Park buildout(i.e.,buildout of the College Park site as described in the MHMP).The results of that analysis therefore represent projected future cumulative traffic conditions both with and without the College Park development. The assumed future cumulative conditions include 2025 traffic levels as projected using the 2004 SJCOG model, which incorporates regional growth projections,and anticipated roadway-network conditions, including improvements adopted for implementation as part of the MHMP approval process. As detailed in Section 4.11,the proposed project would generate a substantial amount of traffic on the local — surface street and highway systems.The MHMP has programmed a series of street widening improvements and other roadway improvements within and adjacent to the Mountain House community to accommodate traffic on local streets associated with MHMP buildout. It has also established a transportation impact fee program applicable to Mountain House development to fund these improvements.The proposed project would contribute it's fair share to the development of this improved surface-street system,by both developing part of the system and paying the transportation fees,and would result in less traffic than would buildout of the College Park site under the MHMP. As shown in the analysis in Section 4.11, "Transportation,"cumulative impacts on most of the local future surface-street system would be less than significant with provision of the street improvements and payment of the transportation fees. However, cumulative impacts on Altamont Pass Road west of Grant Line Road would be significant and unavoidable despite these measures. For the local freeway system,the proposed project would add a substantial amount of traffic to local segments of I- 205,Interstate 580(I-580), and I-5.Under future cumulative conditions some of these roadway segments would operate at an unacceptable level of service(LOS),LOS F,during peak hours.Thus,the proposed project would contribute considerably to unacceptable LOS on 1-205,1-580,and I-5 as well as on Altamont Pass Road.This is a significant and unavoidable cumulative impact because no mitigation is available(at least in the short term)to reduce traffic levels on these roadway segments to a less-than-significant level 2 It should be noted that the MHMP's contribution to unacceptable LOS on these roadway segments,including the contribution associated with development of the College Park project site,was identified as a significant and unavoidable transportation impact in the MHMP EIR,which was certified by the County and for which a Statement of Overriding Considerations was adopted. z Mitigation,in the form of widening of I-205 and I-580,may be available in the long term,but this would require substantial — state funding,which does not appear to be currently available.This would also require substantial regional cooperation by multiple agencies and jurisdictions, and is outside the lead agency's(the County's)jurisdiction. EDAW College Park at Mountain House Specific Plan III Draft EIR Cumulative Impacts 6-12 San Joaquin County