Facts >> Massive Development and Traffic (15 million more car trips per year in Fremont?)

The proposed 800 housing units in the Patterson Ranch proposal plus the 276 units (3-story condos, townhouses, and houses) being built right now on the 15.5-acre Tupelo lot would generate 322,800 additional car trips per month, or almost 4 million more car trips per year throughout the City. [Click on photos to enlarge]

Another proposed development, the A’s ballpark village, would generate 11 million additional car trips per year. This number does not include the many A's fans driving by way of freeways 880 and 680 to the stadium on game days from various Bay Area cities. If city council approves of these developments, 15 million additional car trips would be generated (see table and maps below). Learn more about ways you can help.

The proposed A’s ballpark village would generate over 11 millions car trips per year in throughout Fremont, especially in Irvington and Mission San Jose (see map³ below). A’s fans living in Concord, Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Livermore, and Central Valley cities would take freeway 680 and exit at various points in Fremont to get to the proposed stadium. In contrast, A's fans can easily access the current stadium by BART, centrally located in Oakland.

This presents a heavy burden on street maintenance for Fremont, which already cannot adequately service current needs [read recent Argus article]. For example, drive on Niles Blvd., Thornton Ave., and at Decoto & Fremont Blvd., and see the bad state of disrepair of these major streets. See photo above of potholes on Ardenwood Blvd. overpass [click to enlarge]

Mayor Wasserman was one of over 500 mayors who signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which advocates taking actions such as anti-sprawl land-use policies.² Yet he supports the Patterson Ranch and A's ballpark village high-density developments at the fringes of city where there is little or no public transportation.

To avoid the traffic, pollution, and global warming problems associated with urban sprawl, Friends of Coyote Hills, other environmental groups, along with city planners advocate transit-oriented housing, which many East Bay cities have adopted.

With the proposed Patterson Ranch development creating traffic congestion (with about 4 million generated car trips per year in Ardenwood/Forest Park [see map below] and throughout Fremont), the wildlife in the adjacent Coyote Hills would also be affected by the cars’ air and water pollution, and noise, all of which are detrimental to the wildlife inhabiting Coyote Hills.

The proposed A’s ballpark village would generate over 11 millions car trips per year in throughout Fremont, especially in Irvington and Mission San Jose (see map³ below). A’s fans living in Concord, Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Livermore, and Central Valley cities would take freeway 680 and exit at various points in Fremont to get to the proposed stadium. In contrast, A's fans can easily access the current stadium which is centrally located next to a BART station in Oakland.

¹Office of the California Attorney General. "Brown announces landmark global warming settlement." August 21, 2007.
²Source: http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/mayor/climate/quotes.htm.
³Economic Research Associates. Analysis of the economic and fiscal revenue impacts of a proposed ballpark village on the City of Fremont and the economic base of Alameda County. May 1, 2007, p. I-3.