Signal Hill’s new housing plans may come with new traffic concerns. According to a Sept. 22 transportation impact report, occupants of the new homes could generate nearly 5,300 additional car trips daily.
To meet its State required goal of 517 new homes by 2029, Signal Hill is planning to build four new multifamily housing developments over the next eight years. However, the City anticipates exceeding that goal by constructing 706 new dwelling units, according to Community Development Director Colleen Doan.
The four planned sites are: Orange Bluff, located on Orange Avenue between 27th and 28th streets; Walnut Bluff at the corner of Walnut Avenue and Willow Street; Town Center Northwest, a residential and retail mixed-use site at the northeast corner of Walnut Avenue and Willow Street; and Heritage Square, another mixed-use site, along Cherry Avenue between Crescent Heights and E. Burnett streets.
The City commissioned the traffic study from Santa Ana-based consultants Ganddini Group as part of a larger environmental impact analysis of the planned new housing developments. The study is based on 724 new housing units—the maximum possible units on the planned sites but more than the City’s 706 planned units.
The report forecasts 5,299 additional daily trips once the maximum new housing is occupied, including 334 additional trips during peak weekday morning hours and 405 during peak evening hours.
Four intersections—all along Orange Avenue—would be most impacted by the additional vehicle trips, according to the study: Orange Avenue at 32nd Street, Orange Avenue at Spring Street, Orange Avenue at Willow Street and the south I-405 on-ramp on Orange Avenue.
Three of these problems can be mitigated with some improvements, the study states. Adding a traffic signal at the I-405 south turn on Orange Avenue and adding through-lanes at Orange Avenue and Spring and Willow streets would help improve traffic flow at those points.
Those three improvements would cost between $700,000 and $1.05 million, with the traffic light alone costing $400,000 to $600,000, the report states.
Congestion at Orange Avenue and 32nd Street could worsen
But the intersection of Orange Avenue and 32nd Street may be hard to fix, the study finds. That juncture would need a dedicated right-turn lane to allow traffic to flow better to the north I-405 Freeway onramp, which may not be possible.
“Such an improvement is financially infeasible due to right-of-way and bridge widening costs,” the report states. The area is also in Caltrans’ jurisdiction, not Signal Hill’s.
New housing development may therefore result in “substantial and unavoidable” traffic at Orange Avenue and 32nd Street during the peak morning hour of 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. and evening hour of 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m, according to the study.
Development on the Long Beach side of Orange Avenue—especially an industrial center at Orange Avenue and Spring Street currently under construction—is also expected to impact area traffic, the study states, as is a planned Target remodel and Gateway Center North development on nearby California Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets in Signal Hill.
The intersection of Orange Avenue and 32nd Street has a history of traffic congestion that Caltrans and the City of Long Beach have been trying to remedy for years, Doan told the Signal Tribune.
Since northbound Orange Avenue at 32nd Street already requires a right-turn lane, the new housing units will have minor impact on the existing problem, she said.
“Different options have been considered with the future 405 widening for either transit lanes or toll facilities,” Doan said. “As Caltrans proceeds forward with their plans, the City of Signal Hill will be proactive in the discussion to lessen the impacts to the City and community.”
Left-turn backups may be mitigated
Additionally, the traffic report finds that left-turn lanes may back up on northbound Orange Avenue at the south I-405 on-ramp, and on southbound Orange Avenue turning left onto Spring Street and northbound Walnut Avenue turning left onto Spring Street.
But those can be remedied by restriping the approaches to those intersections and extending left-turn lanes, the study states.
Overall, the study finds that the new housing projects won’t significantly increase daily “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) per person, which would be about 11 compared to the county average of about 14.
Commercial development at each of the sites would also help reduce traffic impacts due to “local-serving retail,” the study states.
Construction of the housing developments itself won’t impact traffic too much either, especially since there are four separate sites, the report states. It estimates that construction will add 371 additional daily vehicle trips, including 23 during morning rush hour and 28 in the evening.
State requires 517 new housing units in Signal Hill
California’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)—which allocates new housing requirements to each municipality based on population and for different income levels every eight years—is currently in its 6th cycle from 2021 to 2029.
Signal Hill’s RHNA allocation requires it to construct 517 new dwelling units during the next eight years—239 homes for those with extremely-low, very-low and low incomes; 90 for those with moderate incomes; and 188 for those with above-moderate incomes.
Doan told the city council in September that of the 189 additional housing units Signal Hill plans to build above its requirement, 139 are for above-moderate income earners at the planned Town Center Northwest and Heritage Square mixed-use developments with 50 additional for those with moderate and lower incomes.
The Signal Hill City Council will conduct public hearings in December and January before deciding whether to approve the four new housing plans.
