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City Beat
Study: Plan for Kmart site won't clog traffic in the area
New development will include signals, lanes, crosswalks
By Kate Carter
The retail and housing development planned for the corner of Southwest Expressway and Fruitdale Avenue should not increase traffic in the area above the acceptable limits, city officials say.
Consultants hired by the city conducted a traffic study of the area and reported their findings to residents at the April 9 community meeting.
The study by Hexagon Transportation Consultants was required before the city could approve the final plan. The site development permit was approved late last year.
A Kmart store on the site closed earlier this year and a MacFrugal's store will close in a month or two, MacFrugal's manager John Dorin said. Demolition of the existing buildings and parking lot could begin once the MacFrugal's is closed and the developer, De Anza Properties, receives its planned development permit.
Construction on the 451-unit rental housing development could begin late this summer, said developer Tom Siffermann of De Anza Properties.
A 250,000-square-foot office building is also proposed by De Anza for the Southwest Expressway side of the site. The city requires a General Plan amendment before the proposal can be approved, city planner Anastazia Aziz said. Discussion on the amendment is scheduled this May, she said.
The traffic study was paid for by the city's redevelopment agency, which identified the project for redevelopment last year and has been helping De Anza secure the necessary approvals.
The site is located along the future Vasona Light Rail line and across Southwest Expressway from the future Fruitdale station, both of which are scheduled for completion in 2004. City officials are working to create more mixed-use development along the Vasona corridor to increase transit use.
John Vidovich of De Anza Properties said that, once the light rail line is completed, the development will actually help reduce traffic in the area. Until then, Hexagon consultant Stephen Hough said, traffic on the two thoroughfares should flow smoothly because traffic is generally light on Southwest Expressway.
Ten intersections in the area were evaluated during morning and evening commute hours, generally between 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Hough said. Conditions were projected for the traffic that could come from the Kmart site development, as well as other approved development projects. Two future developments nearby are a 96-unit apartment complex on the northeast corner of Southwest and Fruitdale and 95 attached single-family residences further south on Southwest, as well as several others further away.
The intersections, including Fruitdale Avenue and Southwest Expressway, Fruitdale and Meridian avenues and Meridian Avenue and Willow Street, were found to have little or no increase in congestion with the new developments, Hough said. In addition, traffic at none of the intersections exceeded the city's standards for acceptable conditions, he said.
Backups on southbound Interstate 280 on- and offramps were found to be caused not by street traffic but, rather, by freeway congestion and poorly timed traffic signals.
Traffic counts were also done at locations along Southwest Expressway, Fruitdale Avenue and St. Elizabeth Drive. District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager's aide Rick Crosetti said they were only concerned by a projection for nearly twice the number of trips along St. Elizabeth, just south of Fruitdale. The development's housing, as well as other residences, are located on that street.
Hough said that, to help guide traffic around the new development, which has driveways off Southwest Expressway and St. Elizabeth Drive, two new traffic signals and intersection reconfigurations have been required by the city and will be completed at the developer's expense.
One signal will be at the southwest driveway on Southwest Expressway, he said. A space will be added through the center median to allow for left-turns to and from the development, and two dedicated left turn lanes on southbound Southwest will lead into the site. There will also be a new crosswalk to the future Fruitdale Light Rail station.
The other signal will be at Fruitdale and St. Elizabeth, Hough said.
Additional left-turn lanes will be added to both directions of Southwest Expressway at the intersection with Fruitdale. A new left-turn lane will lead from Fruitdale to Southwest, as well, he said.
There will also be a new crosswalk at the St. Elizabeth Drive access to the development. Hough said it could include in-road lighting, or uplights.
Aziz said that most nearby residents are positive about the development plans. People within 1,000 feet of the site will be notified three weeks before the planning director will review and approve or deny the planned development permit, she said.
Loreen Kinney of the Wilshire Park Townhouse Association, located just south of the development, said she and others in her complex think the new project will have more benefits than detriments.
"We fought everything in the beginning," she said. "We're looking forward to anything at this point, besides what's there. As long as it's done nicely--that in itself will brighten up the neighborhood."
Kinney said the association members' biggest concerns were that the development could reduce area property values and that it could increase traffic congestion in a neighborhood that already sees a lot of cut-through cars.
Aziz said she is still waiting for the revised plans that should reflect city officials' requests for more information about the project, specifically to ensure the attractiveness of the approximately 10,000-square-foot, ground-level retail space along Fruitdale Avenue.
Design partner Alex Seidel of the project's architects, Seidel Holzman, said he expected to submit the plans to the city by mid-May. He said the plans will mostly just provide more detail to elements of the development, such as retail signage and visibility, landscaping and use of open space.
Developer Vidovich said the region's recent economic slowdown could affect the development, although they intend to follow through on the plan.
Vidovich said he wasn't worried about finding tenants for the housing units, but more about covering his costs.
"There are always tenants for housing," he said. "But these types of developments are always expensive. You need to get a certain rent level to be able to pay for it."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
