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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
November 16, 2007 Pittsburg plans James Donlon extension John VanLandinghamEast County commuters increasingly are using Buchanan Road to bypass traffic-choked Highway 4 – to the dismay of the people who live along or near Buchanan, some of whom complain they can’t get out of their driveways during peak commute periods. To address the problem, Pittsburg officials are planning to build an alternate road that will connect Kirker Pass to Somersville Road in Antioch. James Donlon Boulevard would be extended approximately two miles from the western edge of the Sky Ranch II subdivision to Kirker Pass Road. It would mostly be a two-lane road, but officials said right-of-way might be purchased to allow future widening to four lanes, depending upon the need and available funds. Building the new road will require massive grading that would result in the removal of more than 2.6 million cubic yards of dirt. All the plants, trees and shrubs removed would be replaced, and no retaining walls would be needed, according to a city staff report. During City Council discussions of the bypass earlier this year, City Engineer Joe Sbranti said widening Buchanan Road was possible, but the cost would be exorbitant because so many houses would need to be removed. As with all major road projects, the first step is to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR), and comments are being solicited on what potential impacts should be studied in that report. One of the main concerns from the environmental group Greenbelt Alliance is that the James Donlon Boulevard extension will open up that area for development. “ Although this is being sold as a bypass for Buchanan, in reality it will be the main street for developing (the area),” Greenbelt Spokeswoman Christina Wong wrote in an e-mail, which also states that the EIR should study the costs, the amount of grading, the road’s width, the seven stream drains it would cross, and power easements in its path. “ They’re saying it would affect 100 acres for right-of-way and slope easements. The proposal says that 2,086,943 cubic yards of grading will be required to take out the landslide deposits. (We expect there will be significantly more grading because of the landslides in the area.) The last cost estimate was about $35 million for two lanes,” she wrote. Pittsburg Planner Jason Burke declined to dispute or confirm Wong’s charges. “This is just the beginning of the environmental review. All comments are welcome,” he said. The study list includes possible impacts from noise, how the road extension would look, lights, geologic (landslide) hazards, effects on Mt. Diablo and whether it would cause more growth. ### |
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