The Golden State Warriors’ plan for a new arena in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood moved a step closer to reality Tuesday when a state appeals court upheld the city’s plan to manage increased traffic congestion and said the project would not impede access to a nearby hospital or damage the environment.
The NBA team is scheduled to move from Oakland to the 18,500-seat arena in 2019. Neighborhood and environmental groups, led by the Mission Bay Alliance, contend San Francisco’s plans for more bus and rail service, street construction and traffic signals are inadequate to handle the new crush of spectators in the urban neighborhood, especially when the San Francisco Giants are playing baseball at nearby AT&T Park.