2.
Response
to
Comments
2.9
Individual
Responses
to
Comments
from
Organizations
impacts
to
US
101.
See
4
for
discussion
of
“significant
and
unavoidable”
impacts,
as
compared
to
“unacceptable”
impacts.
The
appropriateness
of
proposed
development
in
relation
to
its
contribution
to
unmitigable
traffic
impacts
will
be
considered
as
part
of
the
planning
review
undertaken
by
the
City
for
the
Baylands.
Should
the
level
of
development
ultimately
considered
by
the
Brisbane
City
Council
to
be
“appropriate”
for
the
Baylands
result
in
one
or
more
significant
and
unavoidable
impacts,
CEQA
requires
that
the
City
adopt
a
“statement
of
overriding
considerations.”
As
stated
4,
“Only
if
a
lead
agency
determines
that
the
benefits
of
a
project
outweigh
its
unavoidable
adverse
environmental
effects,
may
those
significant
unavoidable
impacts
be
considered
‘acceptable’
(CEQA
Guidelines
Section
15093(a)).”
The
Draft
EIR
specifically
does
consider
the
vehicular
traffic
contribution
of
Project
Site
development
on
Bayshore
Boulevard
and
US
101.
See
regarding
impacts
along
the
US
101
freeway
mainline.
The
comment
is
correct
in
stating
that
no
proposal
has
been
made
for
widening
of
US
101,
and
that
the
freeway
is
already
congested.
Widening
of
US
101
as
mitigation
is
infeasible
for
the
reasons
stated
in
the
comment.
Even
if
spot
widening
was
possible
in
the
general
vicinity
of
the
project
site,
physical
constraints
north
and
south
of
the
project
site
would
preclude
additional
widening
and
would
not
increase
the
freeway’s
overall
throughput.
See
23
for
discussion
of
impacts
along
the
US
101
freeway.
The
comment
provides
no
factual
basis
to
support
the
suggestion
that
the
intersection
of
Airport
Blvd
and
Sister
Cities
Boulevard
should
have
been
studied
in
the
Baylands
EIR.
The
intersection
of
Airport
Boulevard
and
Sister
Cities
Boulevard
is
located
approximately
two
miles
south
of
the
Baylands.
Because
traffic
demand
volumes
and
area
conditions
indicate
the
shortest
and
most
reasonable
path
to
destinations,
it
is
reasonable
to
assume
that
trips
heading
toward
South
San
Francisco
would
be
routed
via
US
101
either
via
Beatty
Avenue
or
Lagoon
Road,
and
therefore
would
not
pass
through
the
intersection
of
Airport
and
Sister
Cities
except
in
nominal
amounts.
The
comment
claims
that
if
US
101
is
backed
up,
vehicles
frequently
use
Bayshore
Boulevard
as
an
alternate
route
and
this
would
contribute
to
significant
additional
traffic
through
Brisbane
on
Bayshore
and
will
affect
site.
The
comment
is
directed
at
the
Existing
Intersection
Operations,
which
uses
observed
traffic
counts
collected
at
both
the
local
intersections
and
the
freeway
mainline.
Therefore,
any
drivers
diverting
to
Bayshore
Boulevard
due
to
Brisbane
Baylands
Final
EIR
2.9.2-153
May
2015