15 <br />dedication or street improvements are necessary to meet the <br />approval criteria." Local Rec. 9. <br />The Planning Commission explicitly found that immediate improvements are <br />not necessary. That finding was based on the expert opinion of city traffic <br />engineering staff: <br />"With the exception of street lights, Oakleigh Lane has an <br />approximate 19 foot wide paved surface, but has not been <br />improved to city standards, lacking curbs and gutters, storm <br />drainage, sidewalks, and street trees. As is typical for unimproved <br />local streets in the River Road area, i.e., those streets which do not <br />have paving, curb & gutter and sidewalks or which have not been <br />striped to identify dedicated travel lanes; the expectation is that <br />pedestrians and bicyclists will share the paved surface with <br />vehicles. Additionally, there is a tendency on dead end streets <br />such as Oakleigh, for motorists to travel at slower, more cautious <br />speeds, because of the perceived narrowness of the street. Until <br />such time that property owners elect to improve Oakleigh Lane to <br />full City standards, including sidewalks, the existing paved surface <br />in Oakleigh Street will continue to adequately provide for <br />motorized and foot traffic, as well as for emergency vehicles and <br />delivery services, provided the paved surface is not blocked by <br />parked vehicles. Since the existing paved surface provides safe <br />passage for two-way vehicular traffic, bicycles, pedestrians and <br />emergency vehicles, and since there is nothing to suggest that the <br />impacts of the proposed development will result in unsafe <br />conditions in Oakleigh Lane, it is appropriate to defer public <br />improvements via an irrevocable petition." Local Rec. 1268-69. <br />The Hearings Official and Planning Commission considered all of the <br />evidence before it, weighed that evidence, and determined that there was no <br />safety concern with the anticipated increased traffic generated from the <br />proposed development. Both the Hearings Official and the Planning <br />