Point of View - Curtis Park Village
Reducing proposed commercial uses would make Curtis Park Village traffic more palatable
By John Mathews
Curtis Park neighbor John Mathews of Fifth Avenue wrote the following
in response to the recent Viewpoint article on Mike McKeever, executive
director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments ,who was interviewed
regarding the proposed Curtis Park Village. Other neighbors interested
in writing a Point of View article on the proposed Curtis Park Village
should contact Viewpoint Email for guidelines
on preparing an article for Viewpoint.
One of the most contentious issues concerning the proposed Curtis Park
Village is the high traffic volume that will result from the new development.
A traffic study of a similar rail yard development proposal (Curtis Park
West in 1998) projected 15,000 to 20,000 new car trips per day.
The current Curtis Park Village design proposes 150,000 square feet
of new commercial development (equal to three full-sized grocery stores)
and 50,000 square feet of mixed-use. Together these will be the main generator
(over 75%) of new traffic. To support that much new retail, a large number
of drivers must come from all directions beyond the adjacent neighborhoods.
With few entry points into Curtis Park Village, the developer's current
design puts too big a traffic burden on the residential streets of Curtis
Park. Site Option 1 shows Fifth Avenue connecting straight through to
21st Street. This will bring cut-through traffic from surrounding areas
that has nothing to do with Curtis Park or the new development, and could
potentially turn Fifth Avenue into another Second Avenue. Donner Way and
the north half of 24th Street will also see heavy traffic increases and,
of course, as these streets become impacted, drivers will cut through
from street to street to find a quicker way though our neighborhood.
Considering the negative traffic impact on Curtis Park's residential
streets, is that much new commercial development really necessary?
We've been told over and over that the main rationale for this much
new retail is that somehow Curtis Park is "underserved" and
the only solution is for us to be served by 200,000 square feet of new
commercial development. I live right in the middle of Curtis Park and
I work downtown. When I drive home, I can pass by the new Safeway at 19th
and R Streets and arrive at my front door in five minutes. Am I "underserved"
if it takes me more than 180 seconds to reach a Safeway?
Curtis Park is already well served by the hundreds of existing stores
surrounding us on Broadway, Freeport and Franklin Boulevards. Within two
to seven minutes from our doorsteps, there are many grocery stores, restaurants,
fast-food chains, Starbucks (three within 1 ½ miles), banks, gas
stations, video stores (four), dry cleaners and hundreds of other mom
and pop businesses. We are already being served by realtors, insurance
agents, doctors and veterinarians nearby. And if I ever need a lawyer,
all I have to do is stand on my front porch and wave at one of my neighbors.
Is quick access to shopping so important that we don't care about traffic
doing irreparable harm to one of Sacramento's oldest and best neighborhoods?
Are more retail stores worth the noise, pollution, and decrease in safety
from thousands of new cars per day cutting through our residential streets?
There are already easy solutions at hand. EIR Alternative #4 (EIR Alternatives) reduces the commercial square
footage by 100,000 square feet, which in turn reduces the new traffic
to a more acceptable level. That design proposes 50,000 square feet of
commercial (still enough for a full-size grocery store), 50,000 square
feet of mixed-use (still enough for restaurants, dry cleaners, more coffee
shops, etc.) and more housing.
Additional downtown housing near a light rail station is a design change
that everyone can support. More families and less retail would also help
to revitalize our existing neighborhood businesses. Another EIR alternative
eliminates all commercial building and replaces it with more homes, helping
Sacramento with much needed residential development.
We need to support design changes (including many more points of entry
to the rail yard) that will mitigate the traffic impact on our quiet residential
streets in Curtis Park. Then we can all warmly welcome our new neighbors
in Curtis Park Village.
John Mathews can be reached at 455-9565 or email.
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