Search results matching tag 'traffic'

Goboro Road plan criticized

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:29:00 GMT

The proposed Towle Farm Estates housing development off Goboro Road, near the Epsom/Chichester line, is receiving critical reviews so far from a cross-section of Epsom residents.

Developer Roger Bartlett hopes to put 42 single-family homes in a cluster development on part of the 275 acres. The land has been in his family for years. The property is at Tax Map R-13, Lot 36-1. The back 160 acres will be conservation land, with the easement held and monitored by the New England Forestry Foundation.

But residents have concerns ranging from water to traffic, and a standing-room-only crowd expressed their misgivings in several public meetings. Judy Gibson, who lives off Goboro Road, worries about runoff from the new homes to the Suncook River, which borders the development.

“They will fertilize their lawns,” she said of her potential new neighbors, “and every house will have a septic tank. I asked about it in the meeting, and the response was, ‘We’ll put in catchbasins with filters.’ I asked, ‘Who will take care of the catchbasins?’ and they said, ‘The town.’ That’s another tax burden on the town, and it was kind of a surprise for me.”

“The property does slope down to the river,” Bartlett said, pointing out, “It’s been a wetland for hundreds of years.”

He submitted his wetlands application to the Department of Environmental Services, who reviewed it. He said he is required to deal with drainage issues, and is doing so through culverts, swales and catchbasins. The engineering firm hired by the town, SSC, is comfortable with his drainage plans, he said.

While there may be runoff to the river, the development itself doesn’t have water, Jim Breagy, a 31-year resident of Goboro Road, said. He’s checked with two plumbers, both of whom told him wells would have to be drilled.

“You’re going to shove 40 houses in an area with no water?” Breagy asked rhetorically. Bartlett countered that he’s done test pits and perc tests, and “there is enough water.”

Traffic is also an issue with Breagy. Goboro has deteriorated over the years and is “like a bubble,” higher in the middle, he said.

There is already a problem with truckers passing through to Route 28, even though the road is supposed to be posted. “They do it to avoid the weight check,” he said.

In the summer, the road is filled with young moms with strollers, joggers and people walking their dogs. He’s concerned about the impact of cars from 40 more homes, he said.

“I understand the concern,” Bartlett said, “and it’s well-founded. The Planning Board has had the same concern for a while.”

A traffic study was done and reviewed by SSC.study found that 80 percent of the traffic generated by his development would head toward Route 28, he said, and he’s already talked with the state about his role in improvements to Route 28.

“It is a legitimate concern, and the board is looking at offsite improvements I can do.”

Traffic, he said, is an “open issue.” Police Chief Wayne Preve wanted additional signage on the road, he added.

Breagy is also concerned, he said, that there has been no engineers’ report on the planned development.

“They need to tell us: Is it feasible or not feasible?” he said. And Bartlett doesn’t “know where he’s coming from” on that. “I could not have submitted my application without the engineering work already done,” he said.

He’s contracted with Northpoint Engineering to do the engineering studies. In addition to their studies and those of SSC, Keith Cota, selectmen’s representative to the Planning Board and an engineer, has done a “careful and methodical” review, Bartlett said.

Other residents worry about school children and their effect on Epsom’s public school system. Bartlett said he has provided his “school projections.” Some people object to the strain on town services such as police and fire, but Bartlett said Preve and Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton haven’t come up with any major issues.

“The town zoning,” Bartlett said, “allows for this type of project in this type of area.” And the town may actually benefit, he added. The property is in current usage, with a portion of the taxes abated.

“If it comes out of current usage, the town gets paid – as much as $200,000 to $300,000,” he said.

Planning Board Chairman Dan McGuire sees the situation as “an objection to building in general” on the quiet rural road. He said, “We’ve received more opposition to this development than to any other since I’ve been on the board.”

Developer Adam Towne is working on a 25-house subdivision in another part of town, and hasn’t seen any controversy. But for Goboro Road there is, McGuire concluded, a “general anti-development feeling.”

And for Jim Breagy, that is part of the issue.

“You go on Goboro Road and all the houses are a good distance apart,” he said, adding, “It’s a very homey environment.”

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Towle Farm Estates Wednesday, July 8. For more information, call the Town Office at 736-9002.

Businesses: Wrong time to increase fees

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:11:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Local business leaders are concerned that a plan to update Salem’s system of traffic impact fees may put a damper on future economic redevelopment in the community.

According to Planning Director Ross Moldoff, the town’s current traffic impact fees have not been adjusted for inflation since 1994 and the system in place now is limited to projects on Route 28 and the Pelham Road corridor.

Moldoff said the Planning Board has been considering putting a new, comprehensive traffic impact fee system into place that would incorporate the entire town and make adjustments for inflation an easier process for the past several years.

“The problem was that if you built a big industrial building on Pelham Road, you paid a big impact fee. If you did the same thing on Lowell Road, you didn’t pay anything. The reason it applied to only those corridors is because they were considered the areas where the most growth was going to occur,” he said. “(The new system) will be able to be updated more easily, make the road impact fee system more fair and apply it to all areas of town. The negative part is that it is not a great time to be raising fees.”

Were the proposal begun in its current form, the fee attached to retail development would rise from $1 per square foot on the southern portion of Route 28 and $3 on the northern portion to a flat rate of $4, according to Moldoff. Office space near Stiles Road would rise from a $1 per square foot to $2.56. An impact fee of about $2,200 would also be attached to new single-family home construction across town, he said.

According to Chris Goodnow, of Goodnow Real Estate Services, the proposed changes come at exactly the wrong time to be raising impact fees in Salem. Goodnow said the impact of the new fees could put a chill on plans to redevelop the Route 28 strip and revitalize the Salem Depot while adding a tax burden onto the profit center of the town.

“Basically, an impact fee is a tax ... it’s a dramatic increase of this tax in an economic period where it is poor public policy to increase taxes,” Goodnow said. “If you view the town of Salem as a business, the residents enjoy the benefit of a very low real estate taxation relative to many communities in New Hampshire. They enjoyed that because of the large amount of commercial and industrial development that this community has been able to entertain.”

According to Jim Keller, chairman of the Planning Board, the change comes after a long lull during which the town’s impact fees were never changed for inflation.

The new system would also make the process of assessing fees simpler for the town and developers, he said.

For the moment, nothing is set in stone. The Planning Board held off on making a final decision on whether to begin the new impact fee system after Goodnow and other local business leaders voiced their concerns at a public forum held May 28.

Town employees expect to be able to address the concerns from the business community in time for a second public forum on the sometime in the next six weeks.

Joe Friedman, of Brooks Properties, is hopeful that the board will address the concerns raised by the business community last week the second time around. Friedman said there was a question of whether the board had taken into the account the impact the change would have on businesses considering a move to the community.

“It’s a very difficult times to raise fees,” he said.“We think it’s an extra tax on a specific part of the community. It certainly puts downward pressure on the ability to get tenants.”

I-93 Exit 2 park-and-ride in Salem opens soon

Salem Editor — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:47:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Officials at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation are calling the opening of the Exit 2 bus terminal off of Interstate 93 – tentatively scheduled for Nov. 17 – a significant milestone.

“It’s one of the first couple of projects that we’ve actually completed and we hope to open up. This was a part of the plan from the beginning to provide these park-and-rides and expand the bus service through the corridor in advance of mainline construction,” said Peter Stamnas, project director. “This has been part of the plan to get people out of their single-occupancy cars and use the commuter vans and the bus service.”

According to Stamnas, the state DOT will turn the Exit 2 park-and-ride facility and bus terminal over to Boston Express Bus after a final round of inspections to be completed Thursday, Nov. 6. The private firm contracted with the department will also take over terminals at exits 4 and 5 in Londonderry.

Officials are estimating that within the first year, the total ridership of the expanded service will be about 371,000 passenger trips, increasing to around 522,000 by 2011. The state DOT has created about 1,200 new parking spots between the Exit 5 and Exit 2 terminals and Stamnas said the department expects “brisk” use of both facilities.

“All indications are that they’re going to be well used. Time will tell how well used they will become,” he said. “This will provide more alternatives (to single-occupancy cars).”

Funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, the public-private bus terminals are part of the department’s plan to cut down on the I-93 congestion between Salem and Manchester by reducing the number of drivers, while also rebuilding and expanding the roadway.

Stamnas said the new bus service will have a positive impact on roadway congestion as the I-93 rebuilding project picks up steam – creating the potential for more traffic.

“It’s not going to hurt,” he said. “It’s going to take tires off the road and that’s what we’re trying to do in any way possible. It is to provide those alternatives to remove as many people off the roads as possible.”

While Exit 3 in nearby Windham has an already existing park-and-ride facility, Stamnas said plans were on the table to construct a new facility closer to the interchange a few years down the line. Construction on the Exit 3 interchange would have to be finished before any serious work could be done on building a new park-and-ride facility, likely to begin sometime around 2012.

The new bus service will include six daily trips to South Station and Logan Airport in Boston from Manchester with stops at Exit 5 and 2. The Exit 4 terminal will be open during weekdays only.

Hard copies of the updated Boston Express schedule can be found at the Exit 4 park-and-ride and at the downtown Manchester Bus Terminal. Officials expect an online copy to be posted in the near future.

Salem Lowe's to help traffic flow

Salem Editor — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:10:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A stretch of Route 28 already known for significant traffic entanglements may see some improvement by next year as plans to build a new Lowe’s store, which include a $2 million investment into road work, move forward.

Planning Director Ross Moldoff called the potential road upgrades a “huge benefit” for the town, which he says has not shown any interest in tackling the current congestion problem along the Route 28 strip.

“(It’s) a section of road that is severely congested with massive traffic back-ups that the town hasn’t shown any inclination to funding any improvements,” Moldoff said. “It’s a huge improvement for the town.”

The proposed site of the new store, on the border between Methuen, Mass., and Salem, has been known for traffic congestion, according to Moldoff, sometimes handling 35,000 vehicles a day. With a roughly estimated increase of several hundred more car trips per hour on that stretch of road after Lowe’s opens for business, officials made improving the roadway a must from the get-go.

“The Planning Board made it pretty clear that we have to solve that problem,” said James Keller, chairman of the board. “The board was pretty adamant that in order for that size of a project to occur that those improvements were needed.”

Marc LaVoie, project manager for W/S Development Associates, said the potential impact to the already heavily congested roadway had been a major concern working with the town. Upgrades will be made to three intersections – including coordinating traffic lights – and the possible addition of a turning lane to keep traffic moving in either direction.

LaVoie said he had worked with the Planning Board for over a year to decide what upgrades would be needed in order for the newly developed plaza to open by the spring of 2009. If all goes as planned, construction could begin over the winter.

According to Moldoff, Salem has a long history of asking developers to make improvements on the town’s busiest public roads. When Wal-Mart and Target – also located on the Route 28 strip – came to town, officials asked that the projects include substantial roadwork.

The Mall at Rockingham Park set the record, Moldoff said, with a $20 million infrastructure improvement plan that upgraded roads as far away as 2 or 3 miles from the actual site.

“They’re being asked to mitigate their impact, but because of their new project, they’re going to bring in more traffic,” Moldoff said. “They’re providing a big benefit to the town because they’re fixing or improving a site that is currently pretty congested.”

Not all potential developers are asked to make infrastructure improvements for the town. The construction of a Taco Bell fast-food restaurant in Salem did not warrant roadwork, but by contrast, the new Lowe’s is estimated to generate enough in revenue to cover the cost of the roadway improvements, Moldodff said.

Right now the proposed site of the Lowe’s is what Moldoff called an “underdeveloped shopping center that is largely void of tenants and includes a closed Marshall’s department store and an empty supermarket. By the time the newly developed plaza is expected to reopen – with a newly rebuilt Staples office supply store and a Sovereign Bank – Moldoff expects to see a lessening of traffic congestion on Route 28 rather than an increase.

“The situation will be better after adding the new traffic into Lowe’s than it is today,” he said. Keller said the proposed improvements have made the Planning Board comfortable with the Lowe’s project.

Because the upgrades will both offset the increased traffic created by the development of the Lowe’s store and tackle the already existing congestion, the development will result in a win-win situation for Salem and drivers alike.

“From a town’s perspective, it does two things,” Keller said. “It was essential that Lowe’s mitigate the specific traffic, and secondly the improvement should alleviate the significant congestion that occurs there on a daily basis. From Salem’s perspective, it will allow free flowing traffic into town.”

Traffic solution for clogged intersection in Salem should be neighborhood effort

Salem Editor — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:02:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

A new plan for dealing with the town’s most central traffic problem at the Depot intersection may come through cooperation of businesses and abutters affected most by the regular traffic backup.

By working with abutters, community development director Bill Scott told selectmen that progress may come as transportation consultants work toward traffic solutions that businesses located at the intersection would contribute to.

“We’re looking at this from the property lines in to form a traffic solution,” Scott said.

During the Monday, May 12, community development presentation to selectmen on the Route 28 transportation corridor, transportation consultant Martin Kennedy of VHB, Inc. showed computer-generated traffic simulations with the lagging traffic that local commuters are familiar with: long lines of cars backed up without being able to take left turns.

Although there’s been talk of improving the intersection of routes 97 and 28 since the early 1990s, Kennedy said a comprehensive plan has been continually stalled and pushed back with ongoing state projects like the I-93 widening.

“We’re really trying to look at this as a clean slate,” Kennedy said. “The past is history and the future is open to ideas.”

Rockingham Park president Ed Callahan told selectmen that many of the abutters of the Depot intersection have walked away from the early information sessions with an open and cooperative mindset to a solution.

“I’ve heard an awful lot of plans, but I think it was the first time I was asked, ‘What do you think?’” Callahan said.

Scott said the plan is entering a second phase now as planners and abutters explore alternate roadways and zoning practices that could alleviate the problem. But the recommendations would likely not be put into place until spring 2009.

The challenge, some selectmen said, is planning the district’s economic revitalization so it doesn’t add additional traffic.

Selectman Michael Lyons said parking should be available on each corner of the intersection to make access to those businesses easier.

A prior state plan to make Route 28 an eight-lane road is not an ideal option, said selectman Everett McBride.

“A citizen cannot make their way across that intersection,” he said. “Maybe I could but not most people.” Lawrence Belair, owner of Victorian Park, told selectmen they should create zoning and planning regulations to show businesses what sort of downtown area they’d like to see.

“It’s probably a once-in-political- lifetime chance to have a lasting effect on the town,” Belair said.

Traffic plan for Lowe's plaza in Salem to be debated

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:24:00 GMT

BY JIM DEVINE

Planners will meet next week to review traffic impact plans for a new Lowe’s location at the state line of Route 28.

The Stateline Shopping Center straddling the Salem- Methuen, Mass., border, is presenting a plan for a 200,000- square-foot building to house the large-scale home improvement store at the already busy point along Route 28.

“That’s a pretty big project by any definition in Salem,” Town Planning Director Ross Moldoff said, citing that only a handful of locations would be larger in town.

The plaza location, home to AAMCO and Staples, is located just south of the often gridlocked intersection of Lawrence Road and Hampshire Street.

The Planning Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, is to specifically address R. J. O’Connell & Associates’ submitted plans for the shopping center, Moldoff said.

“They haven’t submitted their full set of plans, but this has been in the works for some time,” Moldoff said. “The Planning Board has really pushed them to come up with a plan that would address the added traffic to the area.”

Since the parking lot of the proposed site rests almost entirely in Methuen, Mass., the developers have had to seek planning approval from the other town, Moldoff said.

Added pedestrian accommodations, turning lanes and changes to the location of plaza entrances and exits are planned to increase space between traffic lights in the area and allow increased flow of traffic, according to proposal documents submitted to the planning office.

As part of the traffic impact requirements to the project, Moldoff said the developers have submitted an application that would include $2 million of traffic improvements to the area.

“They’re going to widen the road, relocate a traffic signal and update them for synchronization,” he said.

Bypass may open soon

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:52:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

A large portion of the new Route 111 bypass, which is expected to bring traffic relief to parts of Windham and Salem, is tentatively scheduled to open at the end of October.

The 2.5-mile stretch from Searles Road in Windham to Zachary Crossing Road in Salem, intersects Route 28 about a half-mile north of the busy Route 28/Lake Street/Shadow Lake Road intersection in Salem where a Hess gasoline station is located.

The opening of the bypass is expected to relieve traffic on Range Road in Windham and Shadow Lake in Salem, which are part of the current Route 111 and connect to that intersection.

The intersections at Route 28 and Zachary Crossing Road will have both have traffic lights. Zachary Crossing is opposite a connector to East Broadway.

The state transportation project costs roughly $30 million.

The state still needs to construct a connection from the Searles end of the bypass to the I-93 Exit 3 ramps in Windham.

Quarry quandary – Concrete plant raises neighbor’s ire

Salem Editor — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:30:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

A proposal to build a 100-by-40-foot concrete batch plant is scheduled to be reviewed again by the Pelham Planning Board on Monday, Oct. 1.

Nashua Redimix is seeking approval to build the facility at the Keating Quarry located on Route 38 at the Dracut, Mass., line.

The plan has prompted some residents and businessmen near the quarry to raise concerns about increases in dust and noise, impacts to water, and heavy truck traffic.

Some Shannon Circle residents have complained that dust generated by current quarry operations is blowing to their homes.

Norman Sage, who lives on Shannon Circle, said one of his concerns is the impact to traffic on Route 38, which is already heavily traveled, by approximately 80 additional vehicle trips to and from the quarry if the plant is built.

“That’s a major impact alone,” he said.

Sage said he is already affected by the quarry. Because of dust that blows over from it, he has to keep windows on the back side of his house closed during summers and frequently vacuums dust from his swimming pool.

Planning Board minutes indicate that company representatives are trying to address concerns raised by the town.

The proposed plant would use a central dust collector that would capture almost all of the dust, company representatives told the board last summer. Gravel surfacing in unpaved areas would also reduce dust, they said.

The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., will be held at Town Hall.

Epsom traffic circle officially renamed

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:34:00 GMT

Gov. John Lynch has signed legislation renaming the Epsom Traffic Circle in honor of Epsom police officer Jeremy Charron and Manchester officer Michael Briggs.

Charron was killed in the line of duty in 1997 during a traffic stop in Epsom. Briggs was killed in October while responding to a call in Manchester. The two men served together as police officers in Epsom. Briggs later joined the Manchester Police Department in 2001. The two were also former Marines.

“After serving in the Marines, each man continued to answer the call of duty by joining the Epsom Police Department. That is where the two men became friends, sharing the common bonds of military and police service. Both showing unwavering dedication to their duty to protect the public’s safety,” Lynch said.

“Naming the traffic circle in honor of these two men does not begin to repay the debt we owe to these two dedicated officers. Nor does it ease the pain of the Charron and Briggs families,” Lynch said. “But what it does is serve as a reminder; a reminder of the service and sacrifice of these two selfless men. They showed courage and dignity time and again while ensuring our safety. For that, we are forever grateful.”

Senate Bill 83 was sponsored by senators Jack Barnes, Lou D’Allesandro, Betsi DeVries and Ted Gatsas; and representatives Charles Yeaton, Carole Brown, Margaret Porter and Suzanne Beauchesne.

“The thousands of people who travel that traffic circle every day will be reminded of the duty, honor and sacrifice of officers Charron and Briggs,” Lynch said.

Hills Road cut-through upsets residents

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:32:00 GMT

BY SUSAN WARE

Hills Road in Auburn is a quiet, tree-lined street that ends in a cul-de-sac surrounded by woods. The neighborhood is tranquil and the residents want to keep it that way. But the cul-de-sac is actually just an unfinished section of road, and a developer is in the process of breaking through the wooded area at the end of Hills Road and connecting it to Hills Road in Hooksett so that more homes can be built.

On Friday, May 21, residents turned out for the Auburn Board of Selectmen meeting and, according to meeting minutes, had concerns over increased traffic in their neighborhood, drainage issues and how homes will be numbered once the cul-de-sac becomes a through street.

Also, the road is being narrowed from 30 feet to 24 feet as a traffic-calming measure and residents had questions regarding curbside landscaping and connections to their driveways during this process. By reducing the width of Hills Road, not only does it deter speeding, but it provides ample sidewalks for residents to bike and walk pets, noted the board.

Some Auburn residents have fought against the opening of Hills Road, saying that it will become a cut-through road for Hooksett residents wanting to reach Route 101 quicker.

But according to Kathy Lafond, secretary for the Auburn Board of Selectmen, Hills Road was never meant to remain a dead end.

“The connection of Hills Road in Auburn with Hills Road in Hooksett was passed by both planning boards many years ago. It has been a right of way since the 1970s. There is nothing anyone can do at this point,” said Lafond.

Hills Road is not alone. Lafond said there are other dead-end roads and cul de sacs that are actually right-of-ways and can be opened up any time. She pointed to dead-ends off of Eaton Hill Road and Rattlesnake Hill Road among others in town.

“People assume that a dead end will always be that way. But it isn’t always the case,” said Lafond.

At the May 21 meeting, the board promised to address concerns with Hooksett officials regarding drainage, since the detention pond for the new homes will be in Hooksett and street numbering.