Pacifica wants to widen Highway 1 north of the Devil’s Slide Tunnel

The city of Pacifica is looking to add a major widening of Highway 1 to its general plan, according to Planning Director Michael Crabtree.  The expansion, called the Calera Parkway, runs south from Reina Del Mar to Fassler Avenue [Google map] and is intended to increase circulation on a sometimes-congested portion of the highway.

The Calera Parkway is one of the most growth-inducing projects currently planned on coastal San Mateo County.  The project, if implemented, would not only affect Pacifica, but would feed traffic through the tunnels to be built at Devil’s Slide and onto the Midcoast.

The Sierra Club said in June 2002 that the Calera Parkway project would have "a significant adverse growth inducing impact on traffic and circulation" on surrounding land forms such as the quarry and hillsides.

What kind of growth? In a letter to the county Board of Supervisors, the San Mateo County Association of Realtors said that it opposes designating the old Caltrans freeway bypass in Montara as open space because "being adjacent to the new tunnel, these properties would be ideal sites [for homes] given their proximity to transit."

The Calera Parkway would be part of a revision to of the the city’s general plan, which was adopted in 1980 and is showing its age.  Among the elements to be revised are the Noise Element, the Historic Preservation Element, the Housing Element, and Circulation (traffic) Element.  The Government Code requires the Circulation Element of any General Plan be correlated with the Land Use Element.  This has the effect of a vicious cycle of improved traffic circulation driving development, creating demand for more improvements in traffic circulation.

Taken to its logical conclusion, the result of this process could look a lot like Daly City.

Bob Pilgrim

The proposed parkway will run from Reina del Mar to Fassler Ave. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bob Pilgrim

The area around the proposed parkway is already developed, and more development is in the pipeline.  LOS means "level of service" and LOS = F is the lowest level. Earthmetrics did the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in 1986.  Click on the image for a larger version.

Bob Pilgrim

If you think Pacifica badly developed, take a look at Daly City. Things could get worse. Click on the image for a larger version.