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GPAC begins Temecula circulation element update; consultants outline process and state requirements
Summary
Consultants at the Nov. 13 GPAC meeting outlined the circulation‑element update process, said the EIR will use VMT rather than LOS for environmental findings, and noted state requirements including complete‑streets and truck‑route provisions; staff described next steps and a timetable for further review.
Temecula — City consultants told the General Plan Advisory Committee on Nov. 13 that the circulation‑element update is in its initial existing‑conditions phase and will use state‑required metrics and regional travel models to decide future roadway classifications.
"A circulation element is a required element as part of a general plan," Katie Cole, a principal with Farr and Piers, told the committee. Cole said the element evaluates existing facilities and identifies what the future network should look like, covering roadways, truck routes, bikeways, pedestrian facilities, freight, transit and regional coordination.
Cole outlined several state requirements referenced in the meeting: "assembly bill or a b 13 58" (Complete Streets), "Senate bill 932" (safety and safe‑systems approach) and an "assembly bill 98" plus a recent "bill 4 15" addressing truck circulation. She said the city has already adopted a Complete Streets policy and that the update will review truck routes and identify whether any routes run adjacent to sensitive uses such as schools.
On environmental analysis, Cole said the general‑plan EIR will use vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as the metric for transportation‑related environmental disclosure; historically, Level of Service (LOS) measured vehicle delay and triggered mitigation through added capacity, but VMT focuses on travel distance and land‑use patterns. "The way that that looked was any place where the level of service didn't meet your stated standard ... would have been called an environmental impact," Cole said, and under VMT mitigation tends to emphasize travel‑demand management such as transit, bike and pedestrian improvements.
Andrew, a consultant on the team, summarized existing travel patterns: about 23% of working residents live and work in Temecula and about 89% of trips are by vehicle; prime congestion points include Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road and Winchester Road near freeway ramps. He said the update will feed land‑use alternatives into WRCOG's travel‑demand model to test future needs and lane requirements.
GPAC members asked for practical materials during the process: a map showing which circulation projects appear in the city's CIP and whether projects are developer‑funded or in a five‑year workplan; clarification on right‑of‑way availability for previously envisioned widenings such as an 8‑lane section on Winchester; and whether Cal Fire and evacuation planning have been integrated (consultants said they will integrate the city's updated hazard‑mitigation and evacuation safety plans and coordinate existing regional work).
Cole said the immediate next step is an existing‑conditions report; after land‑use inputs are settled, consultants will model future travel, refine roadway classifications and produce updated circulation maps. The committee is off in December and expected to reconvene in January to discuss economic development and then land‑use alternatives.
