California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 6 - Resources Agency › Chapter 3 - Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act › Article 5 - Preliminary Review of Projects and Conduct of Initial Study › Section 15064.3 - Determining the Significance of Transportation Impacts

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose.
This section describes specific considerations for
					 evaluating a project's transportation impacts. Generally, vehicle miles
					 traveled is the most appropriate measure of transportation impacts. For the
					 purposes of this section, "vehicle miles traveled" refers to the amount and
					 distance of automobile travel attributable to a project. Other relevant
					 considerations may include the effects of the project on transit and
					 non-motorized travel. Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2) below (regarding
					 roadway capacity), a project's effect on automobile delay shall not constitute
					 a significant environmental impact.
(b) Criteria for Analyzing Transportation
				  Impacts.
(1) Land Use Projects. Vehicle miles
				  traveled exceeding an applicable threshold of significance may indicate a
				  significant impact. Generally, projects within one-half mile of either an
				  existing major transit stop or a stop along an existing high quality transit
				  corridor should be presumed to cause a less than significant transportation
				  impact. Projects that decrease vehicle miles traveled in the project area
				  compared to existing conditions should be presumed to have a less than
				  significant transportation impact.
(2) Transportation Projects. Transportation
				  projects that reduce, or have no impact on, vehicle miles traveled should be
				  presumed to cause a less than significant transportation impact. For roadway
				  capacity projects, agencies have discretion to determine the appropriate
				  measure of transportation impact consistent with CEQA and other applicable
				  requirements. To the extent that such impacts have already been adequately
				  addressed at a programmatic level, such as in a regional transportation plan
				  EIR, a lead agency may tier from that analysis as provided in Section
				  15152.
(3) Qualitative Analysis. If existing models
				  or methods are not available to estimate the vehicle miles traveled for the
				  particular project being considered, a lead agency may analyze the project's
				  vehicle miles traveled qualitatively. Such a qualitative analysis would
				  evaluate factors such as the availability of transit, proximity to other
				  destinations, etc. For many projects, a qualitative analysis of construction
				  traffic may be appropriate.
(4)
				  Methodology. A lead agency has discretion to choose the most appropriate
				  methodology to evaluate a project's vehicle miles traveled, including whether
				  to express the change in absolute terms, per capita, per household or in any
				  other measure. A lead agency may use models to estimate a project's vehicle
				  miles traveled, and may revise those estimates to reflect professional judgment
				  based on substantial evidence. Any assumptions used to estimate vehicle miles
				  traveled and any revisions to model outputs should be documented and explained
				  in the environmental document prepared for the project. The standard of
				  adequacy in Section
				  15151 shall apply to the analysis
				  described in this section.