040405 Jt PH Cond Use, Develpo Agmt, Zoning, etc.-Geneva Commons Proj 200 E. First American Way

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that newer projects are providing. In essence, as suburban areas density, pedestrian activity does not by definition occur at traditional sidewalks along major street edges such as Macarthur Boulevard and pedestrian orientation and activity may be better optimized if directly associated with amenities, such as landscaped podium levels, that developers are willing to provide. Introducing an elevator and stairs increases costs, in comparison to Option 5, to an estimated $1.3 million. A pedestrian bridge connecting developments to the east and west of Macarthur Boulevard in the vicinity of imperial Promenade is feasible in that adequate setbacks on both sides of the street exist and allow placement of varying combinations of bridge spans, elevators, ramps and stairs. Depending upon the type of bridge chosen, the degree of architectural finish desired and the combination of access components such as ramps wanted to achieve connectivity, order of magnitude costs will range from $ 850,000 to $1.500,000. These are preliminary cost estimates and should be confirmed at each step of any subsequent implementation process. During the past two decades normative urban design practice has de- emphasized multi -level pedestrian access, i.e. skyway systems and pedestrian bridges, in all but the most dense urban situations and cities with extreme weather conditions. However, facilitating more direct pedestrian connections through the use of pedestrian bridges in evolving suburban areas, such as that found in the Macarthur Place and Geneva Commons area, may improve the sense of place if pedestrian connections such as bridges are designed to directly link and reinforce amenities such as retail and open space. A good case study where this type of synergy can be found is in the original portions of the master planned community of Valencia, California, where an extensive pedestrian paseo and bridge system connects residential neighborhoods to activity centers such as the mall. Unlike Valencia, at Macarthur Place and Geneva Commons, the pedestrian link is being conceived after the designs are largely complete, and maximizing pedestrian connectivity will require evolution of both designs to maximize pedestrian orientation along any above -grade linkage. The key advantage of a pedestrian bridge link at Macarthur Boulevard and Imperial Promenade is that it lessens the degree of existing and future pedestrian and vehicle conflicts at a major automobile- oriented intersection. The disadvantages of this link are that proposed projects that are well underway will require redesign to maximize the linkage opportunity, implementation including the bearing of the cost will require cooperation of several property owners and private interests as well as the City, and that if developed as an isolated case, rather than a long term approach required of all projects, a confusing and inconsistent pedestrian network in relationship to surrounding uses may result. The City has several choices at this point in time: The City can require that a pedestrian study of the affected intersection and surrounds be conducted to determine if a pedestrian bridge is justified based upon existing and future pedestrian counts, and if justified work with the developers and surrounding property owners to implement a bridge. However, previous experience working on crosswalk safety projects suggests that present and future volumes of pedestrians in this location will not warrant a grade separated pedestrian link and that pedestrian vehicle conflicts can be managed through adjustments to signal phasing at this intersection. 0210A 041025 JK_JT.M.doc II Page 3 of 4 Page 3 of 8