TRANSPORTATION

That’s it. That’s my focus to start. Transportation will make or break this project. I’m referring to bridging the gap between the Howard Terminal site and BART. I’m also referring to the truck and train traffic adjacent to the site. Both have to be addressed in equal measure.

The scope of issues addressed by the CEQA has expanded over the years, so there will be other items to pick through. I’ll look at the summary first, then dive in to specific areas as I see fit. While I mentioned the importance of transportation, the methodology is not expected to use the same eye-glazing traffic count charts you may have seen in the past. You can thank technology for that.

For a more fulsome preview, read The Athletic’s write-up by Alex Coffey and Steve Berman. Good stuff in there.

My one lingering question heading into the Draft EIR reading: What exactly caused the project to qualify for streamlining now as opposed to a year ago or in 2019? (Please don’t say COVID, because this was in play well before COVID struck.) Maybe we’ll get that explanation shortly. To those who are as eager as I am to read through the report and appendices, happy spelunking!