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April 20, 2001 To: The Campus Community From: Tom Vani, Vice Chancellor, BAS Re: Campus Access Routes during the Mission Street Widening Project Construction Dear Colleagues: As most of you know, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) began construction last spring of a two-year project to widen and improve Mission Street. When completed in 2002, it will provide two traffic lanes in each direction between Chestnut (on the east) and Fair (on the west), with left-turn pockets at all signalized intersections within this corridor. Additional improvements now in design-including the relocation of overhead utility lines underground-will improve the aesthetics of the local streetscape. During the past year, however, commuters traveling through the Mission Street corridor have experienced the frustration of increased traffic congestion and travel delays as construction crews worked on the first stage of the widening project. Many cross-town commuters and commercial services have opted to avoid these delays by detouring onto adjacent streets, thereby impacting the residential neighborhoods on each side of Mission Street. I am writing to ask campus commuters to help mitigate these neighborhood traffic impacts by continuing to travel on Mission Street.  Similarly, I want to make a special request of all campus affiliates who operate University vehicles to forego detours through the residential neighborhoods along King, Escalona and California Streets, and travel along the primary access roads to the campus. While this may result in some "lost time" traveling to and from the campus, it is more important that the University act as a "good neighbor" and not exacerbate the traffic impacts being experienced in these neighborhoods.  The first stage of Mission Street construction was completed in late Fall 2000. The second stage, scheduled to begin construction in April, will affect the area between Rigg and Bay Streets. Since Mission Street is such a vital artery traversed by a majority of Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD) buses and other commuters, we should anticipate delays and plan accordingly. In that spirit, I encourage campus commuters to consider the many alternative transportation programs available through our Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) department. The benefits of carpooling, ride sharing, using SCMTD transit or bicycling to reach the campus can save many commuters money while reducing the impact of traffic and parking demand both on-campus and in the local community. Reducing the number of vehicles traveling to campus is perhaps our most effective means of mitigating traffic impacts on our nearby neighbors. In particular, I want to highlight two commute services available to the campus: the TAPS Bike Trailer and the SCMTD's expanded Metro transit service to UCSC. TAPS' Bike Trailer will transport you and your bicycle from the Marcello's parking lot (at Bay and Mission streets) to campus Monday through Friday mornings every fifteen minutes from 6:45am-10:00am. Transit users will benefit from additional SCMTD Route 1 service provided this spring, including more supplemental buses operating during peak travel times and formalization of the "Westside Flyer" route. For more information, visit the TAPS web site at www2.ucsc.edu/taps/. For more information on the Mission Street Widening Project-- including weekly construction updates-- visit the project web site at www.missionwidening.com. Thank you in advance for your assistance in reducing neighborhood traffic impacts throughout the completion of the Mission Street Widening Project. Sincerely yours, Tom Vani Vice Chancellor, BAS
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