With the shopping center now under construction across the street from , it may seem hard to believe that traffic on Trancas Street won't be affected.
But according to the city’s , which did a traffic study before the approved Napa Crossing, the new retail plaza won't add to traffic congestion on the major east-west thoroughfare.
That's because there will be no vehicle access to the shopping center from Trancas Street:
"In an effort to improve traffic conditions at the intersection, the developer will remove existing driveways on the south side of Trancas, eliminating potential conflicts with eastbound travelers heading through the intersection,” said senior civil engineer Jason B. Holley.
Instead, shoppers will access Napa Crossings from new driveways on California Boulevard, Permanente Way or California Way.
In addition, the northbound approach of California Boulevard will include two dedicated left-turn lanes going west on Trancas and a dedicated right-turn lane onto eastbound Trancas.
-bound cars going north on California Boulevard will have a dedicated lane straight into one of the city’s busiest .
Congestion into itself will likely continue as long as the older shopping center has its bottleneck where traffic squeezes from two lanes to one, according to Scott Klingbeil, a senior planner for the city.
’s property manager Craig Semmelmeyer was not available for comment for this story.
Klingbeil said while the California-Trancas-Bel Aire intersection might not be the busiest in the city, "it is probably among the top five.”
Napans shopping at last week had mixed reactions to the prospect of the new shopping center and attendant traffic changes.
“It seems traffic and parking is more organized now than before,” said Sandra Rogers, sitting outside .
“I don’t have a problem with the new shopping center across the street,” said Rogers.
Shopper Helen Brenzel takes the opposite view.
“I think the traffic is terrible," Brenzel said, adding that she believes it will only get worse with the new shopping center adding to the existing traffic mess.
“Where are they going to let the cars park?" Brenzel asked about the future shopping center.
She blames for the increased traffic and parking problem. “They take up too much space.”
Brenzel would have liked to have seen smaller, specialty boutiques in the space anchored by Whole Foods.
But she admits she likes visiting the busy shopping center because she enjoys people watching.
Leasing agent Cornish & Carey’s website said construction at Napa Crossing is underway for two chain restaurants, Chipotle and Habit Burger and four other chains: the Vitamin Shoppe, Walgreens, Sleep Train and Verizon.
