Public Comment

The Adeline Corridor Plan's Transportation element is ill thought-out and unacceptable.

This DEIR proposes to reduce Adeline Street's transportation capacity by 33%, simply to create a curiously ill-defined "Public Space Opportunity Area," which "may include landscaped areas, plazas and programmed events." The authors arrogantly wave away the lost capacity as "excess right-of-way.";

Adeline Street is – like it or not – a vital transportation corridor in and out of Berkeley. It serves buses as well as private cars, and enables commuting by Berkeley residents who need to work in other cities to support ourselves.

What responsible planning document would propose to cut 33% of capacity with no specific offsetting goal? It seems clear what's happened here: There is no goal, and no real planning.

This document simply reflects the casual anti-automobile bias of its Berkeley-dwelling consultant (Philip Erickson), who has an amply-expressed personal axe to grind; and of certain planners on the City's staff. Just block 33% of the carrying capacity; force the remaining evil motorists into artificial congestion; and...um, we'll do...you know, something with the repurposed land that previous generations' real planners had laid out to serve transportation needs.; 

So procedurally, this DEIR element reflects both conflicts of interest and a lack of professional analysis or results. It seems to embody specific consultant and staff goals, rather than the public's aspirations or input. I should note here that I'm writing as a daily bicycle and public-transit commuter. However, I value transparency in policy-making, and honesty in evaluating environmental impacts. 

In terms of those environmental impacts, I see no real gain from forcing traffic into artificial congestion. Conversely, there are real CEQA-relevant detriments. Slower-moving traffic is less-efficient traffic. Therefore, this plan proposes to worsen pollutant emissions – a local impact directly affecting South Berkeley's underserved communities of color – and to magnify Berkeley's carbon footprint. 

Especially with no clearly-defined goal for the converted space, the environmental detriments of drastically narrowing Adeline arguably outweigh any benefits. This element should not be pursued or implemented. 

It's very odd that Berkeley residents are being informed of this DEIR just 48 hours before the deadline for comments. I would like to thank the Mayor and his office for at least getting the word out (in his July 17 newsletter) before the public was entirely excluded from this process.