Why build Watson Ranch? (updated)
on the web at: https://sodacanyonroad.org/forum.php?p=1133
Bill Hocker | Jul 18, 2016

Update NVR 7/18/16: American Canyon project would further congest traffic on Hwy 29
Duh! Napa Pipe just up the road, on the other hand, with almost as many homes and much more commercial including a Costco, is mitigated with a couple of left turn lanes!

Update NVR 3/30/16: Watson Ranch traffic: Which way will it go?

A minimum of 3500 more cars/day moving north into an already packed corridor. Again the same argument that is made over and over. The road is already at LOS F. It will still be at LOS F even with our project, so it is a less-than-significant impact. Unbelievable

NVR 12/10/15: Mammoth American Canyon project prompts traffic, water concerns

The project is currently proposed to have a 200 room hotel in addition to the 1250 housing units.The City Manager pointed out that without the hotel, the city would lose about $1.2 mil/yr providing infrastructure and services to the homes. With the hotel, if it attracts high end guests and is filled (big ifs), there will be a $1.2 mil/yr revenue surplus. Someone then asked, of course, "Why build the houses? Just build the hotel."

A city official (I neglected to get his name) looked a little struck by the question. And then he answered: "This is the vision of our general plan - to have a larger city." The general plan was, no doubt, written by developers.

The residents of American Canyon already have shortages of school space, parks and playgrounds. This project underserves its own residents and will not relieve the shortages in the rest of the town. One person said that it is already hard enough to find jobs in the town. Why import 4-5000 new residents that will only put a greater strain on overstrained budgets and facilities, not to mention traffic and water.

One questioner suggested that the city wait until 2022, when ABAG will ask for another batch of affordable housing, to build Watson Ranch. They may have found another water source by then. The traffic, unfortunately, from the vast amount tourism and industrial development happening throughout the county in the next decade will continue to come. It will not be handled by 2 extra lanes and timed signals, and a freeway, I'm afraid, bisecting the town is inevitable.

Seeing that there is only one access road connecting the project to Hwy 29, creating an enormous choke point, I thought that it was done to align with the one freeway offramp planned for that end of town. While this still may be true it also seems that the developer more likely doesn't want to pay to go under the railroad tracks more than once, just as they don't want to pay to extend Newell Drive north to relieve traffic on Hwy 29 through town. This is a huge project that needs to bring a lot more benefits to the town than it is being asked to do. Why build it otherwise?

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