Public Transit Best For The Upper Ridge

by Paul Smith

On October 4, 2000, Mike Crump, director of Butte County Public Works, informed the Paradise Irrigation District directors that the long awaited engineering and environmental review of the Magalia Reservoir dam crossing would begin soon. The work will be financed by a $500,000 grant from the state.

Bob Greenlaw, Butte County Public Works project manager, provided this writer with additional information on the subject. Within the next few weeks, his office will identify a list of potentially qualified consultants and send each of them a Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP will be quite specific as to the nature of the project. The consultants, in turn, will submit proposals to Greenlaw’s office. Based on those proposals and supplementary information, the county will select a consultant for the project.

The consultant will complete a preliminary design study and an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). During the course of this phase, all potentially feasible alternatives will be evaluated for feasibility and environmental impacts. That process will lead to the selection of a preferred alternative and the completion of engineering design work specific to the chosen alternative. Finally, following the review and approval by the Butte County Department of Public Works of prerequisite work, the consultant will prepare a Construction Plan for the project. The entire process might take about a year and a half to complete.

Although Greenlaw affirms that all potentially feasible alternatives will be properly considered, most references about widening the highway over the dam seem to presume that the road should and will be widened to four lanes. However, that presumption assumes, erroneously, that other alternatives are not available.

This article will illustrate one other significant alternative to the four-lane concept. The suggested alternative would require, as a minimum, approximately 54 feet of width on the top of the dam. The four-lane concept would require, minimally, about 78 feet of width due to the two additional 12-foot lanes. (12 feet is assumed, but it could be slightly less.)

The Four-lane Alternative

Commencing in the 1960s and 1970s, the Butte County government permitted the development of Paradise Pines on the upper ridge. The development resulted in the creation of a huge cul-de-sac, possibly the largest one in the state, with only one practical road in and out of the area. That road, the Skyway, funnels automobile traffic through the Town of Paradise. A traffic count in 1995 found that the Average Daily Traffic (ADT) on the Skyway just south of the dam was 15,300. The ADT at that location is now probably about 17,000. The traffic to and from the upper ridge flows through the Town of Paradise, utilizing Clark Road and Skyway in about equal amounts with a much smaller use of Pentz Road.

Widening the crossing to four lanes would have two undesirable consequences. It would stimulate additional residential growth on the upper ridge, which in turn would increase traffic from the upper ridge to and through Paradise. That growth, obviously, would have a compound effect on the Skyway traffic. There would be more traffic even if there was no additional growth, and there would be much more traffic as a result of the growth. Eventually the increased use of the new-found capacity could again result in congestion at the reservoir crossing. Deja vu!

One thing that the town doesn’t need is more automobile traffic on Clark Road and Skyway. Also, Chico officials and merchants would welcome the people from Magalia in their stores and shops, but that welcome wouldn’t extend to the flood of additional vehicles on their streets. It has been said that for every one automobile, three parking spaces are required; one at home, one at work, and one at the shopping center. Although, in practice, it doesn’t actually work out precisely that way, there is considerable truth to the observation.

Two Lanes Plus Public Transit

This suggested alternative to the four-lane concept utilizes at least three essential components. They are: 1) an improved crossing; 2) a massive public transit system consisting of express buses running between Magalia and Chico (and possibly Oroville); and 3) improved alternate routes to and from the ridge using Hupp-Coutolenc Road, Centerville Road, and the Ponderosa Way connection. The Inskip—Butte Meadows Road is not essential to this alternative. The road improvements should include straightening, widening, and paving. (Some realignments might be needed.)

The improved crossing of the dam would include two 12-foot lanes, one for each direction, separated by a six foot median strip (suitable for landscaping). Both the southbound and the northbound lanes would have 8-foot shoulders. In addition, a paved 6-foot bike path would utilize the north side of the dam. It would be helpful if this configuration could extend from Coutolenc Road south of the dam to South Park Drive north of the dam. Adequate guard rails should be installed.

The mass transit component would involve express buses with 35 passenger or larger seating capacity. The buses should function in conjunction with several park and ride lots located along Skyway in Magalia and Paradise. In a prior article on this subject, I suggested the following conditions:

  • Conveniently located parking lots with night lighting, perimeter chain link fences, bike racks, benches, and provision for partial shading of automobiles from the sun;
  • Multi-use of the sites for ride sharing, park and bus riding, and the dropping off of bus riders so that the family car can be retained for use in Magalia and Paradise;
  • Express bus runs from Magalia to Chico and Oroville and back during the commute periods and throughout the day.
  • Those runs could include a few brief stops in Paradise;
  • On-board equipment for pre-emptive control of traffic signals. As a bus approached a green light, the light would stay green long enough for the bus to pass through the intersection;
  • Posted bus schedules and fare information;
  • readily available handout schedules;
  • imaginative advertising of the benefits of public transit use.

There are two additional points not included in the previous list. Bus riders commuting to work and shopping in Chico and Oroville could benefit from special bus routings in those cities. Secondly, and this is a very important point, a transit bus system could be started incrementally with as little as one bus. Initially, it could offer prepaid reserved seating. If the demand warranted, more buses could then be added. If the residents did not show sufficient interest in the service, it could be discontinued and the county could then proceed with other alternatives.

Routes to and from the ridge are urgently needed in addition to Skyway. Should there be an impairment at the dam or the need for emergency evacuation, the transit buses, along with buses from other agencies, could transport residents out of the area using any of the available routes. That service should be far more effective than a mass exodus of private automobiles, trucks and motor homes.

The residents of Paradise, Chico, and Oroville do not need the extra traffic that a four-lane crossing would cause in their areas. There is a good possibility that the public transit alternative presented herein might actually reduce the amount of traffic that now exists.

For upper ridge residents, faced with possibly devastating forest fires and water shortages, more residential development would simply exacerbate the situation. Therefore, in order for the proposed engineering and environmental review to be creditable, it must include proper consideration of all potentially feasible alternatives and the consequential impact of each alternative.

This article was first published in the November 9, 2000 edition of the Ridge Riposte, a Paradise based newspaper.

From the Winter 2001 issue of the Environmental News.