SANDAG has updated their Regional Transportation Plan. FYI, in essence, SANDAG is responsible for all regional transportation planning, fund allocation, project development, and construction, especially in the public transit arena. This means that SANDAG has enormous power to shape the future of San Diego County. The new Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) has many proposals for highway upgrades, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, rail and bus transit, and traffic management systems.
The draft EIR for the RTP found that the proposed 2007 would result in significant, potentially unmitigable impacts to Land Use, Visual Resources, Air Quality, Noise, Energy, Global Climate Change, and Biological Resources. Other issue areas, including Geology/Paleontology, Water Resources, Cultural Resources, and Hazards and Hazardous Materials would result in significant but mitigable impacts. Impacts to Regional Water Supply, Traffic/Circulation, and Environmental Justice would be less than significant. Cumulative impacts were found to occur in the areas of Land Use, Social Environment, Visual Resources, Air Quality, Noise, Energy, Global Climate Change, Geology/Paleontology, Water Resources, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, and Hazards and Hazardous Materials. Implementation of the proposed 2007 RTP would not be able to avoid these impacts. Mitigation measures included in the EIR and measures outlined in individual project-specific environmental analysis could mitigate many impacts to below a level of significance. However, significant impacts in the areas of Land Use, Visual Resources, Air Quality, Noise, Energy, Global Climate Change, and Biological Resources potentially could not be mitigated.
The opportunity for public comment on the RTP will end September 17, 2007.
