Developers offer road improvements

By Sarah M. Corigliano

Assistant Managing Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW Last Thursday morning, while a member of East Longmeadow First stood on a busy street corner and waved at passersby, holding a sign that said "Vote Yes in Article 23," the developers of a proposed Lowe's in East Longmeadow met with The Reminder to outline their intentions to improve traffic conditions on North Main Street.

Jim McKenney, project manager with developers Edens & Avant; Robert J. Michaud, managing principal for MDM Transportation Consultants, Inc.; and Paul A. Benjamin, of the Benjamin Company, which provides

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Could not find template: ad/large advertising and public relations services, presented the developer's offer to widen North Main Street in front of Heritage Plaza, with the intention of easing traffic congestion in that part of town. They said the plan will be submitted to the town's Planning Board in 60 to 90 days.

"Earlier, when the project was first unveiled, one of the immediate responses and concerns [from residents] was traffic," Benjamin said. "This is a community that has continued to grow with major development projects and almost nothing has been done to address the increase in traffic."

Benjamin continued, saying that in a project such as the proposed Lowe's, the developers are required to look at traffic in the area of the project and determine what impact that business would have.

Benjamin said the first thing that is considered is to "first, do no harm."

"You cannot put a project like this in [without improving the abutting roadway]," he said. "It behooves them [the town] to improve the road if they're going to have a successful shopping center."

Benjamin said Edens & Avant would donate the land required to widen the portion of North Main Street that abuts Heritage Plaza, in addition to closing one entrance-only driveway and adding a drive that would take traffic from the intersection of Harkness and North Main Street to the proposed Lowe's, which would be situated behind the exisiting Stop & Shop. They would pay for the road improvements.

"Edens & Avant were well aware that traffic has become a critical problem," Benjamin said. "They are committed to improve the traffic situation in town."

He added, "To some degree, this is in self-interest, but the other shopping centers will also benefit."

Michaud, the traffic engineer hired to review and suggest improvements to the current road conditions in that area of North Main Street, said the plan is to improve a mile-long stretch of the road, which he said currently serves 20,000 to 22,000 vehicles per day.

The improvements suggested included widening the road, providing two through-travel lanes where there is currently one lane. Michaud added that the traffic light at North Main Street and Harkness Avenue, the southern point of which is where the access road to Lowe's would be, would also receive a state-of-the-art traffic light that "would respond to traffic in real time."

The engineer said this intersection and the other road improvements would take traffic off of North Main Street for a portion, as it would corral the traffic for Heritage Plaza and Lowe's off the road and onto the development's property.

Benjamin said the developers believe a Lowe's would act as an anchor store for smaller businesses in town, such as independent shops and restaurants, as customers would be able to meet several of their shopping and dining needs in a concentrated area, as opposed to leaving town for certain things.

"Access management" was a key word used to explain the concept of bringing cars onto the Edens & Avant property without overwhelming the public roadway.

"As the owners of the center, we would not be proposing [the Lowe's project] if traffic was that bad, because it would be bad for the shopping center and current tenants," McKenney said. He added that he was filling in for Keith Hague, the Edens & Avant project manager for the Lowe's proposal. Hague was on vacation last week.

Regarding Article 23 at Monday's Annual Town Meeting, Benjamin said Edens & Avant are "not sure yet" what effect an affirmative vote would have on the project. Article 23 seeks to limit retail developments in town to 40,000 square feet, exclusive of parking.

McKenney said the size of the building should not be a concern as much as the number of customers per hour or day.

During a phone interview last Thursday, East Longmeadow First chairperson Lynn Smith said she thought the traffic proposal was a distraction on the part of the developers.

"Basically, I would say that after months of no response from them, the town has moved forward with a plan of its own," she said. "It seems to me that this developer is trying to pretend that Article 23 doesn't exist."

She added that the Planning Board had unanimously voted to support the article, which is a zoning by-law amendment.

"Monday the voters will voice their opinions, and Article 23 will be approved," Smith added. "Once in place, it makes the traffic study and proposed improvement a useless effort at this point."

Smith added that the proposed retail size cap is not directed specifically at Edens & Avant's Lowe's project.

"It is a chance for the town and voters to help manage the growth of East Longmeadow," she said. "Right now, our focus needs to be on that. I believe that what they're trying to do is make a distraction, paint a nice picture basically it's an annoying distraction right now ... let's see what happens Monday and then we'll talk."