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Streets <br />CurrentSituation <br />Informationreviewedconcerningcommunitydesireswithrespecttostreetsandtransportation(suchas <br />the2002RiverRoad/SantaClaraUrbanServicesCommitteeReport)indicatesthatpreservationofrural <br />streetscapesinthefaceofurbanizationissecondperhapsonlytoparksandopenspaceasatransition <br />issueimpactingthetwocommunities.ThechallengeinRiverRoadandSantaClaraistoassurepublic <br />safetyandavoidproblemsastrafficvolumesgrowth,whilesustainingphysicalelementsofthecommunity <br />heritage,suchasoldertreedstreetsections. <br />Safetyandtrafficflowsareobviouslyparamountconcerns,butothervaluescanbegivensignificant <br />consideration.TheCityisreasonablycompelledtorequirefullimprovementsatthetimeof <br />redevelopmentorredevelopment,simplybecauseanadjacentnewhousingprojectcanberequiredto <br />makesuchupgradesaspartofanoveralldevelopmentapproval,orfortrafficorsafetyconsiderations <br />Nonetheless,giventhat(atleastwithlocalstreets)theissueofruralvs.suburbanstandardswilloftenbe <br />moststronglyfeltinolderdevelopedneighborhoods,theremaybeopportunitiesfortheCitytofacilitate <br />thepreservationofÒheritageÓstreetscapesbybalancingcommunityneedswithCity-widestandards. <br />ThesurfacestreettransportationsystemsinbothcommunitiesincludeCountyandCityjurisdictionroads. <br />CountyandCitybuiltroadwaysdiffersomewhatinappearance,bothbecausesomeCountyroadsare <br />olderandreflectthestandardsofthepast,andbecausestandardsarenotnecessarilyconsistent <br />betweenthetwojurisdictions.Morerecentlyconstructedroadsexhibitcommonstandardsirrespectiveof <br />jurisdiction,astheCityhasexercisedfunctionaltransportationplanningauthorityforRiverRoadand <br />SantaClarafornearly20yearsbyintergovernmentalagreementwithLaneCounty. <br />TheCityandCountyhavedevelopedaseriesofotheragreementsforcoordinatingstreetmaintenance <br />andimprovementsinRiverRoadandSantaClara,andinotherareaswithintheUrbanGrowthBoundary <br />(UGB).MaintenanceagreementsspecifyindividualstreetsasaCityorCountyresponsibilityirrespective <br />oflegaljurisdiction.Themostcurrentagreementsidentifyandassignresponsibilityforalonglistof <br />specificstreetsintheSantaClaraandRiverRoadneighborhoods.TheCityandCountyalsoenterinto <br />agreementstofundandconstructupgradestoroadsinÒmixedÓjurisdictionareas. <br />Therearesomedistinctionsthatcanbemadebetweenthetwocommunitieswhenitcomestostreets, <br />primarilybasedonthepatternofolderdevelopmentandtheopportunityfornewormorerecent <br />development.Thesearedescribedbelow. <br />Forthepurposesofdiscussingtransitionandheritageoptions <br />. <br />addressingstreets,however,thetwocommunitieswillbetreatedhereintogether <br />Withthecautionthatthesearegeneralizeddescriptionswithmanyexceptions,thepattern(andattendant <br />implications)ofcommunitystreetpatterns,couldbedescribedasfollows: <br />RiverRoad <br />RiverRoad,particularlysouthofHornStreet,ischaracterizedbylongeast-westblocks.BetweenHorn <br />andHowardStreet,therearemanylongnorth-southblocksandsomelonglocalstreetsthatsimplydead- <br />end.ThesestreetpatternswouldÒdateÓtheareaasolderthanotherpartsofthecommunity. <br />RiverRoadnorthofHowardtoBeltlineRoadexhibitsasubdivisionandlocalstreetpatternthatlooks <br />moretypicallycontemporaryandurbanthanareassouthofHoward(e.g.blocksareshorter,thereismore <br />regularpatternofconnectivitybetweenstreets,etc.),althoughthepatternisstillverygrid-like.A <br />subdivisiontothewestofBramblewoodParkisanexceptiontothischaracterization,exhibitingamixof <br />cul-de-sacandcurvilinearstreetsthatindicateamorerecentsubdivision. <br />ThereappearstobeonlyacoupleoftractsleftintheRiverRoadcommunitythatcouldaccommodate <br />substantialnewresidentialdevelopment,thereforemostopportunitiestoupgradestreetsthrough <br />RiverRoad/SantaClaraCommunityTransitionProject35 <br />TransitionandHeritageWhitePaperMay2006 <br /> <br />