The City of Pasadena's Department of Transportation (PasDOT) has recently recommended revisions to the performance measures it uses when determining what, if any, impact new commercial and residential plans will have on transportation/traffic.

While the West Pasadena Residents' Association applauds the PasDOT staff's efforts to update the metrics to include other modes of transportation (bicycles and pedestrian traffic, for example), several of the proposed recommendations would effectively eliminate consideration of automobile traffic analysis when determining suitability of development.

OUR VIEW: The WPRA, in a July 20 letter to Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and City Council, expressed this concern and noted that the proposed measures are premature, since the Governor's Office of Planning and Research will be proposing new state transportation measures in the near future and these measures will surely not be approved until sometime in 2015.

Although PasDOT has said it was proposing these new measures now to "get out in front of these changes," anticipating the final State measures would be highly speculative. Also, any new Pasadena measures, if adopted in the immediate future, will likely require changes within a year due to the new State rules.

We agree that once the new state measures are approved, Pasadena should evaluate what flexibility it will have, within the new State laws, to achieve our own unique transportation objectives. Only then can the City and resident stakeholders have a meaningful discussion on what measures should be proposed and their potential impacts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is, as they say, a "wonky" topic, but good transportation planning is key to a good neighborhood quality of life. Pasadena's business, recreational and residential lifestyle elements depend on a certain level of people, goods and services moving into, out of, within and through Pasadena daily. Most of that movement takes place today by automobile. The proposed new transportation performance measures de-emphasize automobile movement and emphasize alternative modes, such as mass transit, cycling and walking. These are appropriate policy goals, but can they be expected to maintain the movement of people, goods and services?

BECOME INFORMED: To provide you with more information, visit the WPRA website to review a:

NEXT STEPS: We encourage you to attend the City Council meeting on Monday, July 21. If you can't attend the meeting, you should share your thoughts with City Council before the meeting by sending an email to City Clerk Mark Jomsky at mjomsky@cityofpasadena.net. Be sure to inform Mr. Jomsky that you wish him to forward your comments to the Mayor and Council, and please copy the WPRA at president@wpra.net.