It may be the most controversial topic around Pleasanton these days. Should the city extend Stoneridge Drive to connect with Livermore or leave it the way it is, ending in a barricade?
While the City Council has already expressed its views on the matter, most being against the extension, others have said they will wait to decide until a modeling study that would forecast how the road extension would affect traffic is completed.
And in late January, the City Council ordered just that.
The city has said it always intended to model a Stoneridge Drive extension to Livermore, it was just a question of when, said City Manager Nelson Fialho.
In the midst of wrapping up an update on its General Plan, which hasn’t been updated since 1996, the city said the process has taken much longer than anticipated and an expected completion date last December has now been pushed back to the end of this year.
The issue of whether to extend the east to west roadway is far from being a new concept. The extension actually dates back to the 1960s when officials were thinking of ways to accommodate traffic when ValleyCare Health System made plans to relocate in Pleasanton. In the city’s 1996 General Plan, Stoneridge Drive was included as a long-term traffic solution. Also included in the General Plan was a proposal to build a freeway interchange at West Las Positas Boulevard to relieve some traffic on city streets but it was killed after the city determined it too expensive of a venture. It was also opposed by many homeowners living near the site whose driveways face the street. The abandoning of the interchange left Stoneridge as the other traffic congestion solution.
The city conducted some preliminary traffic modeling without including a Stoneridge extension and shared results with the Planning Commission and City Council at a joint-body workshop Jan. 30 that was open to the public.
Data taken in the spring of 2006 show two intersections during the morning peak hours and seven intersections during the evening peak hours that are either an “E” or “F” failing grade when it comes to traffic congestion. The city’s standard for level of service at intersections is a “D” rating or better. That excludes five intersections located downtown, according to principal planner Janice Stern. The downtown core operates at E and F ratings which is acceptable because in keeping the character along the Main Street region, the streets would need to remain pedestrian-friendly, and thus, not have wider streets or additional lanes, Stern said.
When asked by city staff to decide whether the city wants to re-run the model to include Stoneridge Drive, to incorporate proposed transit-oriented development (TOD) and dispersed growth land use options, the City Council, with the Planning Commission’s approval, said they would like to do all of the above.
The workshop is the 20th the city has held between the commission and council since January 2004 over traffic circulation and land use issues as part of the update of the General Plan. The “working draft” circulation system consists of the existing roadway network and various possible future improvements.
As Stoneridge Drive was brought to the forefront after the West Las Positas interchange idea fizzled, a core group of those opposed to the extension made their feelings known to the city. Many of the residents who live along Stoneridge in newer homes have said it was never disclosed to them when they bought their homes that the currently quiet residential street could turn into a major thoroughfare. They worried that any alternative east to west route to Livermore would encourage those who often sit in a sea of red taillights along 580 during the morning and evening commutes would encourage cut-through traffic. City Councilmembers, except for newcomer Cheryl Cook-Kallio, who hasn’t yet taken a stance on the issue, also expressed their opposition to the extension out of the same concern.
But this past fall, a new group emerged. Members of a newly-formed citizens group called Stop Pleasanton Gridlock, many who live near the most congestion-ridden intersection in Pleasanton, Valley Avenue and Santa Rita Road, began countering the negative sentiments toward a Stoneridge Drive extension. They said having the road extension would improve the overall traffic circulation of the city, including at Santa Rita and Valley, where it is needed the most.
The divide has some city leaders concerned.
“I think our community has become very polarized on Stoneridge Drive,” said Councilman Jerry Thorne. “We need to do models as soon as possible and make a decision as soon as possible so that we can stop the polarization.”
Thorne’s comments followed extensive public testimony.
“They’re trying to push their problems on us and that’s not fair,” Naomi Jones, who lives near Valley Avenue, said in reference to residents opposed to extending Stoneridge who live along that street.
Mohr Elementary P.E. teacher Dan Maslana countered by saying “We don’t really need to be accusing one neighborhood of one thing or another; I don’t see how it’s productive.”
“My hope is that you’ll model [Stoneridge] immediately and compare apples to apples,” said Stop Pleasanton Gridlock member Nancy Allen, in reference to studying results if the extension were built and if it wasn’t.
Former Fire Chief George Withers said whether or not to build the extension is in some situations a matter of life and death.
When Pleasanton fire stations are busy responding to other incidents and someone living in the Stoneridge area needs help, the next closest station is at the Livermore Airport–unable to quickly access Stoneridge without the connection, he said.
Opponents to the extension countered, saying their residential neighborhood would become a busy thoroughfare if the plan is enacted. Many who live in the newer homes along Stoneridge said it was never disclosed to them when they purchased their homes that a road extension was a future possibility.
The traffic study takes between 30 and 45 days to perform, according to Stern. She said she expects the results will be presented at a future joint workshop with the Planning Commission and City Council sometime next month.
