HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-06-13 Community Planning and Development Commission MinutesI/
Town of Reading
16 Lowell Street ` ` ~f .
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Reading, MA 01867-2683
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Phone: 781-942-9012
Fax: 781-942-9071 _
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Email: creilly&i.reading.ma.us ( rz5v
Community Planning and Development Commission
CPDC MINUTES
Meeting Dated: June 13, 2005
Location: Multi-purpose Room, Parker Middle School, 45 Temple Street
Members Present: Neil Sullivan, Chair (NS), Susan DeMatteo (SD), Richard Howard
(RH), and Jonathan Barnes (JB).
Members Absent: John Sasso
Selectmen Present: Ben Tafoya, Chairman Richard Schubert, Camille Anthony, James
Bonazoli, and Joseph Duffy
Also Present:
Chris Reilly, Town Planner (CR); Michael Schloth
W/S Development Team
Richard Askin, Project Manager, W/S Development Associates LLC
Attorney Mark Favaloro, representing W/S Development Associates LLC
Bob Frazier, Vice President of Development, W/S Development Associates LLC
Brian Sierra, Vice President of Lifestyle Centers, W/S Development Associates LLC
Rod Emery, Traffic Engineer, Edwards & Kelsey
Rick Rostoff, One Carol Way, Salem, MA. 01970
Kate Thibeault, Pearson, One Jacob Way
Julie Epstein, Realtor, JTE Realty Associates, P.O. Box 955, North Andover, MA 01845
[The following people signed the Attendance Sheet:]
Susan Abate, 43 Gleason Road
Virginia M. Adams, 59 Azalea Circle
Mary Avery, 277 South Street
Chris Brungardt, 324 South Street
Fred & Joan Doherty, 68 Curtis Street
Lori Doughty, 348 South Street
Erin Engelson, 14 D Street
Jeff Everson, 21 Pine Ridge Circle
Mark Favaloro, 348 Park Street, North Reading 01864
Susan Giacalone, 9 Orchard Park Drive
Lois Halligan, 357 South Street
Sarah Hilgendorff-List, 43 Wakefield Street
Michelle Hopkinson, 21 Sherwood Road
Page 1 of 13
Tom Loughlin, 24 Oak Street
Leslie McGonagle, 140 Pine Ridge Road
Representative Patrick Natale, Room 167, State House, Boston
Joan Neary, 355 South Street
William Pike, 13 George Street
Lori Presho, 340 South Street
Melissa Russell, 23 Plymouth Road
Mark Schneider, 337 South Street
Cromwell Schubarth, 17 Sturges Road
Lisa Tighe, 85 Eastway
Frank Touserkani, 21 George Street
David B. Tuttle, 27 Heather Drive
Bill Webster, 245 Walnut Street
Diane Weggel, 277 South Street
There being a quorum, the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.
Administrative Review
Johnson Woods PUD minor modification request
Attorney Brad Latham presented the Board with two changes to the Johnson Woods
plans:
1. The location of building 14 was shifted to save trees and the location of building
13 was shifted to maintain the proper spacing with building 14.
I Building 12 was split into two parts to save a large oak. Essentially, a duplex has
been made into two single-family units.
CR said that he saw no problems with either modification. He added that because the
shifts were greater than ten feet, he could not use his own discretion in permitting the
changes as the Board had granted him such discretionary power only if the shifts were ten
feet or less [see minutes of April 11, 2005].
Brad Latham noted that the Conservation Committee had approved this request.
RH moved that the Board approve these changes as a minor modification in accordance
with the draft decision attached to Latham & Latham's letter of May 13.
JB seconded.
4:0:0 voted approved.
Johnson Woods PUD affordable housing marketing and lottery plans
CR said that the Selectmen have been asking after the lottery applications for Johnson
Woods. RH said that it was his understanding that CR and the Town Council will review
the proposed plans and that CR will present the results of that review at a future meeting
of the CPDC at which time the CPDC will draft a recommendation to the Board of
Selectmen? CR agreed.
RH asked if Reading Housing is involved in this? CR said that they were not at this time.
Page 2 of 13
At the request of Selectman Schubert, Julie Epstein presented a brief summary of the
lottery process.
She said that before we start advertising, the plans will be submitted to both the
Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Citizens Housing
and Planning Association (CHAPA) for approval. Then, as required by statute, we'll
conduct an extensive outreach program: there'll be a 60-day advertising period; a "Lottery
Line" phone-line and website will be set-up; informational meetings will be scheduled.
We will spell out the requirements and any local preferences (e.g. special permits). As
applicants present themselves, they will be reviewed for eligibility.
RH said that the Johnson Woods is a special-permit-project not a 40B or a LIP and
asked what kind of approval does it require? Ms. Epstein said that as far as the DHCD is
concerned it is very similar to the 40B-approval process. They - DHCD - want to know
that I've come in and presented the plans to whichever Board oversees the project (she
believes that the regulations spell out that this would be the Board of Selectmen). This
Board would sign a letter that stated that I did discuss the local preferences and the
homebuyer selection "in accordance with the special permit" plan. I'll send the letter and
plan to the DHCD for their approval. If CHAPA is the monitoring agent then they'll sign
off too.
JB asked for clarification: are the documents Ms. Epstein just spoke of something we
should have seen before this meeting? Are we discussing the approval of these plans
tonight?
RH, CR, and Brad Latham said no, tonight's discussion is informational only and a way
to get the ball rolling. Ms. Epstein added that she was only presenting an example and
that she will be putting together a formal presentation for the Board of Selectmen at a
later date.
Ms. Epstein was asked for an estimate of the number of applicants we might see. Using a
22-unit project in Marblehead as an example, she said that about 1200 applications went
out and roughly 140 came back in and of those about 120 qualified. Everything went
smoothly, she added.
The presentation wrapped up with a brief discussion of Johnson Woods' "construction
timeline" and the coordination of the lottery with it. Ted Moore noted that Phase One has
45 marketable units and only two are affordable units. Phase Two - this autumn - will
make additional affordable units available. Ms. Epstein said that we would prefer to hold
only one lottery but depending upon when Mr. Moore says that the additional affordable
units are ready we may have to hold two lotteries.
The Board thanked Ms. Epstein for her presentation.
Public Comment/Minutes
RH moved to approve the minutes of April 11, 2005 as amended.
- ' JB seconded.
4:0:0 voted approved.
Page 3 of 13
RH moved to approve the minutes of May 9, 2005 as amended.
JB seconded.
4:0:0 voted approved.
Joint Zoning Workshop : CPDC & Selectmen
Addison-Wesley Rezoning
At 8:00 PM, CPDC Chairman Neil Sullivan passed control of the meeting to Selectman
Chair Richard Schubert. He called the Board of Selectmen to order. All members were
present.
Zoning Workshop on Addison-Wesley Rezoning - The Town Manager stated that the
applicant is here tonight to present their full-blown traffic study, and to discuss the
feasibility of adding a mixed-use component to their plans.
The Developer's Presentation - Richard Askin said that his team will discuss two topics:
1. The traffic plan in detail. They will show that they can make it work.
2. The requested mixed-use component. Mr. Askin says that it is feasible and that
they can make the traffic work with it too.
Mr. Askin expanded upon the mixed-use component using Reading's Master Plan as a
touchstone.
• The Master Plan calls for the use of Smart Growth and uses the economic
development of South Main Street as an example. Mr. Askin said that their project
would fit right in with Reading's South Main development plans.
• The Master Plan identifies 10 locations for residential development and the Addison-
Wesley site is one of them. Mr. Askin said that a mixed-use component could make
this possible.
• The Master Plan suggests the use of use of transportation shuttles. Mr. Askin said
that a shuttle service could be incorporated into the project and he noted that their
Hingham center has a shuttle service.
Mr. Askin said that Reading's vision of what the Addison-Wesley site would be was
recast in 2000 with the projected 600,000 square foot office park and 300-room hotel.
That fell through but, as a recent article noted, aging office parks are being converted for
use as retail and residential properties.
Mr. Askin said that there are lifestyle centers around the country that have a mixed-use
component. The retail center is on the ground floor and the residential and office units are
on the upper floors. He presented an artist's representation of such a possibility in
Reading.
Mr. Askin turned to the traffic study ("Traffic Impact Analysis Report"). Mr. Rod Emery,
a Traffic Engineer, did most of the talking. The traffic study focussed on two points: the
intersection of South and Main, and the access to the site from Route 128. Mr. Emery
called the study in its present form a draft and "a work in progress" that needs to be
cleaned up before it is ready to be submitted for formal review.
Page 4 of 13
Mr. Emery noted that many and widespread traffic counts were made during the study.
Traffic counts were taken near the site, along West Street and points north... everywhere.
Lots of data was gathered to set a baseline for the traffic counts. This is necessary to be
able to gauge changes in the traffic patterns accurately. The data was crunched using
"network analysis". Mr. Emery explained that "network analysis" is the study of critical
intersections.
A key point of the study is that Main Street's (Route 28's) traffic is heavy. This makes the
intersection at South Street particularly dangerous. Mr. Emery said that there have been
42 accidents there in the past three years and this is way above the norm.
Mr. Emery said that the traffic study assumed four different uses for the site:
• The 2000 plan of an office/hotel complex (600,000 sq. ft. office park and 300-room
hotel).
• His team's original 400,000 sq. ft. retail center ("lifestyle center").
• A mixed-use plan comprising the 400,000 sq. ft. retail center plus residential and
office units.
• A residential-only plan consisting of a 3,800 unit apartment complex.
Mr. Emery hastened to point out that they were not proposing the building of a 3,800 unit
apartment complex. The residential-only plan was added to the study to show how large a
residential project would have to be to match the traffic flow of any one of the other three
proposals.
Mr. Emery then went into some detail over the proposed changes to the intersection at
South and Main. These changes included the creation of new lanes - dedicated lanes - to
reduce congestion, and the reconfiguration of Jacob Way to force or to influence
shoppers not to use South Street.
At an earlier meeting, Mr. Askin described how traffic engineers rate roads by their
"level of service" and that the ratings run from "A" (the best) to "F" (failure). Mr. Emery
noted that the changes they propose to make to the intersection could give the intersection
a "C" rating for all four of the uses listed above.
Much of the numerical date was summarized into tables and these tables, as well as
drawings of the suggested intersection and road changes, were presented to the Boards in
a slide show.
As a point of reference, Mr. Askin presented Edward & Kelsey's traffic data from the
lifestyle centers in Hingham, MA and Canton, CT. He said that his team's claim that
lifestyle centers are different from malls is borne out by this data. The parking ratios of
both lifestyle centers are roughly commensurate at about four per 1000 sq. ft. of retail
space. Regional malls have a ratio of five per 1000 or higher.
- To show what kind of access the Hingham and Canton lifestyle centers enjoy, Mr. Askin
' presented aerial photos of both centers. Hingham has two driveways, one signalized.
Canton has one large driveway.
Page 5 of 13
Mr. Askin next addressed what went wrong with the traffic when Addison-Wesley was
used as a polling place during last November's Presidential Election, and he suggested
how his team's proposal could have improved the situation:
• Most of the voters' traffic that day passed through the community from the north, east
and west. Most of the future shoppers' traffic will come from Route 128.
• There is now no dedicated left turn lane; in fact, there have been no roadway changes
made to the area at all. His team's proposal could add the dedicated lane and more:
• Jacob's Way itself could be signalized.
• A median strip could be added to prevent turns back up South Street.
• A cul-de-sac could be added to the end of South Street.
• Traffic calming measures could be applied - Three kinds:
• Speed (Speed Table)
• Volume
• Passive (Gated Community)
Mr. Askin finished up with a brief discussion of the buffer. To show the effect of their
proposed buffer on the neighboring residents' views, his team had hired Geller &
Associates of Boston to make slides showing what the proposed changes to the site would
look like to someone looking at the it while standing at a particular spot on South Street.
These slides were presented in a slide-show together with slides of the same view as it
exists today.
See Attached: Developer's handouts summarizing their Conclusions and
Recommendations for the Addison-Wesley site apropos their traffic study.
The Boards' Discussion
BOS Chairman Richard Schubert welcomed all, apologized for the stifling heat, and
suggested that the Boards move right into their discussion. He asked that the public hold
their questions and comments until the end.
CPDC member Richard Howard asked three questions:
1. Why does the table of peak PM in/out traffic show the Mixed-Use option causing
slightly lower traffic than the Retail Only option? The Town Manager noted that
this is a point our peer review will consider. Mr. Emery said that he could give a
quick answer: the slightly lower number is a result of the fact that with mixed-use
some of the shoppers would also be residents of the same mixed-use complex.
2. You say that all of the options for the use of the site can be made to work such
that they provide a "C" rated level of service. Do all of these options include your
proposed traffic mitigations?
3. Who will finance the mitigations? One of the developers said that they would bear
the expense and then hand the results (lanes, median strips, etc.) over to the Town
and/or the State.
CPDC Member Jonathan Barnes asked which configuration would result in zero cut-
through traffic? The Town Manager noted that the developers meant a zero increase in
cut-through traffic.
Page 6 of 13
Mr. Frazier added that the only way you could stop all cut-through traffic would be by
creating a cul-de-sac at the end of South Street. He noted that when he had made this
suggestion at a previous meeting some residents had expressed concern that such a
measure would impair emergency vehicle response. Perhaps emergency vehicles could
use the emergency-access road?
The Town Manager pointed out that if we cut-off South Street, the traffic will just end up
on some other street. We must be careful that our solutions do not make new problems.
Selectman Ben Tafoya asked why the mixed-use option must include the originally
proposed 400,000 sq. ft. retail center? Mr. Askin replied that the 400,000 sq. ft. retail
center is the "critical mass" needed to make the project successful and viable. He
expanded on this point stating that his team was not suggesting any specific numbers for
the residential portion of the mixed-use proposal.
Many asked how adding more square footage, i.e. adding office and/or retail space on top
of the 400,000 retail center, could be done while maintaining the same level of service as
the retail center alone?
Mr. Askin replied that each use has its own traffic pattern and the traffic study shows that
all of the patterns fall under a "C" rating. He also said something about "incremental add-
ons" keeping the level at "C."
Selectman Ben Tafoya asked: if a 400,000 sq. ft. retail center is the "bottom line," then
how many visitors per day are needed to support a retail center of that size? Mr. Askin
stated that they look at it from the point of view of vehicles per 1000 sq. ft. of retail
space, and, when looked at that way, their project is somewhere between two and three
vehicles per 1000 sq. ft.
Selectman Ben Tafoya then asked how many cars per day would that be? Mr. Frazier
said that the Canton, CT center handles roughly 10,000 per day, and the Hingham, MA
center handles roughly 16,000 per day.
Mr. Emery interrupted to point out that these numbers represent vehicle trips per day. As
one car goes in, another comes out. Also, you have to account for "pass by" traffic. That
can account for about a quarter of the traffic.
The Town Manager broke down the Canton CT. numbers: 10,000 vehicle trips per day,
2,500 of which are just passing by, which leaves roughly 7,500 shoppers.
Returning to the mixed-use proposal, Selectman Ben Tafoya noted that most of the
residents in such a complex would probably not be working in Reading and, therefore,
would add to the traffic by coming and going just like any other commuter or shopper.
- - CPDC Chairman Neil Sullivan, noting that the Hingham Center averages 16,000 vehicle
-
trips per day, asked how its level of service is affected by weekend and holiday traffic?
Page 7 of 13
Mr. Frazier replied that the level of service adjusts to the number of commuters filling the
road network. When there are fewer commuters, there's more room for shoppers.
BOS Vice Chairman Camille Anthony said that she had expected to see a lengthy traffic
study this night. She defined the study as presented as "cursory." She added that it is
incumbent upon the developer to show that they could improve the access to the site.
Mr. Frazier stated that they have presented specific plans extra lanes, intersection
reconfiguration, etc. to help the situation. He noted that his team is still "feeling its
way" and asked Vice Chairman Anthony what the Board wanted?
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony stated that a "C" level of service is unsatisfactory. It
has to be an "A." She noted that the Board wants to know the traffic counts, and they
want to know that the traffic will not back up onto Route 128.
CPDC member Richard Howard asked the developers if they could define the Service
Levels of "B" and "C." He also asked if they had performed any queuing studies?
Regarding the queuing studies, Mr. Emery stated that their traffic models considered all
of the ramps and projected the entire interchange five years out. The final report will have
more information.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony noted that she was under the impression that the final
report was what they had scheduled this meeting to see. She also noted that this was the
first time that she had heard that the 400,000 sq. ft. retail center must be a component of
- any and all of the developer's proposals. She expressed concern over the extra density
the office and retail units would add to the area if the mixed-use proposal must also
contain the original 400,000 sq. ft. retail center.
The Town Manager replied that we must wait for the finished study. We'll have our peer
review consultant look it over and then we'll be able to talk about details.
Chairman Richard Schubert said that if the traffic study to date is correct, and 80% of the
traffic does come from Route 128, then the Board has a great concern about whether the
ramp can hold the traffic. Mr. Emery said that that 80% includes both the traffic from
Route 128 and the traffic from Stoneham. He added that the ramp must be widened and
signalized.
While on the subject of the ramps, Chairman Richard Schubert said that the I-93/I-95
Interchange should be included in the report. Mr. Emery said that the Interchange was
not a part of their study, and Chairman Schubert replied that it would seem to be
necessary that it should be.
Chairman Richard Schubert noted that the Addison-Wesley site is currently underutilized
and asked when it was last fully utilized? Kate Thibeault of Pearson stated that it was
last occupied in December 1999 and last fully utilized in 1996-1997.
Selectman James Bonazoli, returning to the discussion of the developer's Canton, CT
retail center, noted that, despite its similarity in size with the proposed Reading center,
the Canton center's road layout is different from Reading's. Mr. Frazier agreed and
Page 8 of 13
described other differences. Namely, the access point for Canton's retail center is more
centrally located, and there are not as many homes bordering it as border the Addison-
Wesley site.
Selectman James Bonazoli next revisited the question of the slightly smaller traffic
numbers for the mixed-use plan versus the numbers for the all-retail plan. He said that he
could not see how the developer got the numbers to work. Mr. Emery could only repeat
what he stated earlier - some of the shoppers are residents and that gives you a "mixed-
use discount."
Public Input
Mr. Frank Touserkani of 21 George Street had a question. When the developers approach
stores to sign them up for this project, how many cars do they promise to deliver? He
added that determining the number of cars is the kind of bottom-to-top design approach
that we should be taking not the top-to-bottom approach we've been hearing about over
and over in meeting after meeting.
Mr. Frazier replied that the retailers look at the same demographics that we do. They see
that many people pass through the I-93/I-95 Interchange. When they see those high traffic
numbers they ask themselves, can we add another store there? That's part of the critical
mass. Retailers want high traffic counts.
Brian Sierra added that, regarding the number of cars, they don't guarantee anything to
- retailers. Retailers perform their own analysis. Mr. Sierra said that he could supply
studies of shopping centers that show how much money is spent per visit. The amount per
visit spent in lifestyle centers like the one we propose for Reading is higher than the retail
average because the stores are more upscale.
An unidentified gentleman noted that we've been hearing about the I-93/I-95 Interchange
being redesigned. He asked the developers if there was any reassurance from the Mass.
Highway Department that this won't affect your project?
Mr. Emery said that he had worked on an earlier Interchange study and noted that Mass.
Highway would contact those developers with plans to build near the interchange to ask
them if their plans are "fully visualized." If so, Mass. Highway will try to work with
them. Mr. Emery added that, in any case, Route 28 and its ramps will still be there, and
any redesign of the Interchange is too far off to worry about.
Mr. Fred Doherty of 68 Curtis Street asked if there are any final plans showing what the
State will do? Mr. Emery said that none exist. Mr. Doherty pointed out that there are
other developments that will have an impact on South Street traffic: the Spence Farm and
Johnson Woods subdivisions on West Street in Reading, and the Inwood housing project
in Woburn.
- Mr. Doherty further noted that stop signs are not very effective. He said that there's one -
on Curtis Street that everyone just rolls through. He asked how a stop sign or a "no left
turn" sign at the entrance to this project would keep people from driving back up South
Street?
Page 9 of 13
Mr. Cromwell Schubarth of 17 Sturges Road said that the proposed retail center would be
a traffic magnet and that we can forget about using South Street once it's built. He also
noted that we do need to recapture the taxes from the property, but our first question
should be why must it be a 400, 000 sq. ft retail center? What is their break-even point?
He said that our trees are now recycling the traffic fumes from Route 128. What happens
when they are removed to make way for this shopping center and its new intersection?
These are environmental questions that need to be answered.
Ms. Sarah Hilgendorff-List of 43 Wakefield Street had three points to make:
1. During the Presidential Election, we had terrible traffic in spite of the fact that we
moved the people through the polls very efficiently. Shoppers don't move in and
out of stores efficiently - they take their time.
2. Reading needs open spaces and recreational areas. There are also concerns of how
much electricity and water this retail center will consume.
3. This shopping center would contain nice shops but what will it do to the shops in
downtown Reading? We're building up our periphery at the expense of our center.
Mr. Chris Brungardt of 324 South Street noted that if 18% of the cars come up Route 28,
then that means roughly 2000 to 2100 cars a day would be added to the traffic on Main
Street. Try making a left turn into Calareso's now let alone with that extra traffic on the
road. We must address the concerns of all our businesses.
State Representative Patrick Natale said that he was amazed that the developers were
admitting that their proposal would reduce the level of service of the roads from a rating
of "B" to a rating of "C." He said that that is not the way to sell the plan.
Mr. Emery admitted that the rating is "B" today but he added that if nothing is done to
improve the road and intersection, the level of service will degrade. Mr. Askin reminded
Representative Natale that traffic levels have risen in spite of the fact that Addison-
Wesley is now empty.
Representative Natale said that he was just offering advice - show that the traffic will
improve if you want to win people over. He said that he has walked South Street which
has no sidewalks and he knows its traffic is getting worse. In Woburn, he said,
Washington Street's Cummings Park took business away from Woburn's downtown. Yes,
there was a benefit but at what cost? We can't allow the prospect of big money to distract
us. He said that he could not support this project.
Mr. David B. Tuttle of 27 Heather Drive noted that Vice Chairman Anthony makes a
good point about the traffic backing up onto and off of the highway. It is all about traffic
thresholds and chaos theory. Yes, cars go by on Route 128 in great numbers but the
system works only because the cars go by and don't slow down to exit.
Mr. Frank Touserkani of 21 George Street had three more points:
- - -1. - If this location isso good, why has the Woburn Mall deteriorated? -
2. What about the parking lot? The parking lot at Lowe's is dangerous.
Page 10 of 13
3. After Y2K, our taxes have kept going up, up, up. We've passed all sorts of
measures to increase the tax base but taxes still go up. Do we now, on top of
everything else, have to rezone this property to bring money to the Town?
Ms. Virginia M. Adams of 59 Azalea Circle asked to speak. She began by stating that she
was not speaking in her capacity as the Chairman of the Historical Commission. She
noted that South Street is over 350 years old. It is both an Ancient Way and a Scenic
Road. We must protect its integrity. We must protect what we have. If something must go
into the Addison-Wesley site, its impact on the Town should be minimal.
Ms. Theresa Petrillo of 329 South Street said that she would be the first to shop at the
developer's lifestyle center if it was built but she hopes that it will not be built because
of the traffic it will bring. She said we need to hear some truth from the developers
instead of a lot of words. We are hearing the same things over and over. She thinks that
the reason we have not heard a solution for the traffic problem is because there is no
solution.
Mr. 'Cromwell Schubarth noted that the intersection at South and Main Street is
dangerous and adding more traffic won't make it less so. What has been said about the
parking lot is true. They can be dangerous and that should be looked into. He also asked
if anybody had addressed the issue of where they'll put the snow?
The Town Manager described what should happen next:
• The full and complete study will be finished.
• We will hire, at the developer's expense, an expert of our choosing to peer review the
traffic study.
• We will meet to discuss the details.
Vice Chairman Camille Anthony reminded the developers that they should now know
what we are looking for so there should be no question of what they should be providing
us at the next meeting. Attorney Mark Favaloro asked if it was correct that the Selectmen
want to know how many cars will be backed up onto Route 128 and stacked up on South
Street, Main Street, etc.? He noted that concerns were expressed over how this project
would affect Reading's downtown, and he asked if the Selectmen would like his client to
address this issue also? The Town Manager said that traffic is the number one issue and
that is what we want to discuss.
Mr. Frank Touserkani asked that if the mall does go in, please demand that Whole Grain
Foods not be allowed to build there. He said that it will put Calareso's out of business.
Selectman Chair Schubert moved to adjourn.
CPDC Chair Neil Sullivan seconded for the CPDC: Selectman Duffy seconded for the
Board of Selectman.
Voted approved: 4:0:0 (CPDC) and 5:0:0 (Board of Selectmen).
The meeting adjourned at 10:35 PM.
Page 11 of 13
These minutes were prepared by Michael Schloth and submitted to the CPDC on July 25,
2005; the minutes were approved as amended by the CPDC on July 25, 2005.
Signed as approved,
lr;, ,a
Rich . ,Howard, Secretary
Date
Page 12 of 13
PARK. SgUARl
Conclusions and Recoininen4ations
This section identilies measures that will address development related access needs in s;oncen with
the Town's long range interest,: to improve the transportation network that provides safe and
efficient arterials to accommodate movements to business centers while minimizing unnecessary
traffic through neighborhoods. At the same time, these access improvements will re~ ult in a sound
tramsportation plan that will allow one of several developmr -nt scenatios to be built on the Addison
Wesley property without negative impacts. In addition, EK i s committed to studying additional
traffic calming measures to help alleviate the existing cutAdn%i tt'al'fic problem on South Street.
Incremental traffic; increases due to the development will not result i any notable level-of'-service
deficiencies at the study area intersections with the proposcd wit atzErr measures, The most
significant impact will heat the Route 28/South Staeet intersection. 'lie analysis provided includes
a breakdown of the editions that existed at :ill occupancy of the Addison ` KlcsIcy site and would
exist with the 3 new development options. Each development option would require major
infrastructure investment at tl iG Route 2819outh treet/1-95 interchange.
Proposed Access Improvements
Access needs of the developn-&nt have been pr pare(l t<)r roview and discussion with Town staff to
determine the final list of improvements required. 11c ac:;ess de: igrt evill nsist of the following,
* Add left turn lams on the Route 28 approaches. Add a right turn lane on the NF3 wyl SB
approaches and on the South Street 13 approach-
Add right tuna lame on the South Street ER «appouich.
• Add queue storage on the 1-95 SB ramp.
• Reconfigure the South Street. and Jacob Wray intersection.
• rlodi4 traffic signals at haute 28/South Street to create exclusive left turn phases :north and
st)uth and signalization o the 1µ95 SB ramp,
Study traffic calming option: for the South Street neighborhood.
.
This traffic study has concentrated on the analysis of ilre Route 29/South Street iuter-.'c.ction and the
acljoining 1-9 (Route 128) intcrchz)sge. Other study area intersections were. determn seed to not l
critical rot tivo masons; the traffic as~;i f;itcd to these into r~ec Lions was minimal and trallic
improvements are planned to upgrade; most of tlae t rrat~,rs~:coot .
TRAFFIC IMPACT AND ACC SS STUDY, JUN IC 4-3
Page 13 of 13