Pride develops new plans for Longmeadow Road store

Date: 9/12/2011

Sept. 12, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

LONGMEADOW — Planning Board Chair Walter Gunn called the latest revision of the plan for the renovation and expansion of the Pride Stations and Stores’ Longmeadow Road location a “huge improvement” during its Sept. 7 public hearing.

The meeting was a continuation of the original public hearing on July 20 at which concerns about traffic congestion, lighting and service were raised. Robert Bolduc, the fueling company’s owner, told the board he felt the new plan would settle many of those issues.

“These are new plans,” he said. “This is our third revision and I think it addresses all of the concerns [residents] and the board have expressed.”

In response to a request for a traffic study by Gunn, Bolduc tapped Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB) to conduct the study. Juliet Locke, a traffic engineer for VHB, conducted the study and presented her findings and recommendations on traffic flow to the board, addressing areas of concern expressed to her by Town Engineer Yem Lip.

“In terms of traffic that gas station creates, it does generate a lot of traffic and the reason we’re here is because we want to make improvements to make that station more efficient,” she said. “When we went out and looked at the intersection during peak hours, we found that the intersection is not working as badly as one might think.”

With peak hours being between 7 and 9 a.m. and 4 and 6 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, Locke said that the study showed the intersection saw twice as much traffic as the Institution of Transportation Engineers (ITE) estimates it should.

However, from a traffic perspective, the level of service, on scale with A being the best and F being the worst, traffic traveling along Route 5 at the intersection received passing grades. In morning peak hours, the intersection’s level of service on Route 5 received a rating of C, and B ratings for evening and Saturday peak hours.

The only roadway associated with the intersection that received failing marks was Booth Road, which had its level of service ranked at an F in morning peak hours and D in evening and Saturday peak hours.

“The worst level of service is seen in the morning when commuters are turning left to get onto Route 5 while trying to get onto [Interstate] 91,” Locke explained.

Locke also indicated that a traffic flow proposal for the station submitted by Police Chief Robert Siano in which traffic would flow through a one way south entrance on Connecticut Avenue was not advisable largely because of the way the Connecticut portion and Massachusetts portion of Route 5 meet. The Planning Board agreed with the finding.

“One major thing we find [with roadways crossing state lines] is one state wants to put the road here and the other wants to put the road here, so there is a jog at the property line,” she said.

Locke explained that the “jog,” was caused by the western edge of the roadway being further west in Connecticut than in Massachusetts. With the added fueling station, it would create a very narrow opening for traffic to flow into, which could create traffic logjams.

Locke also said Pride would provide granite curbing to an abutter on South Avenue that has sustained damage to curbing and property from fueling trucks entering the station. She also said the company will take further steps to prevent run off into a catch basin on South Avenue.

Bolduc outlined the plan for the store facility, which will expand from a 32-by-32 foot building to 80-by-32 feet. The front of the building will be red brick and the sides will be white clapboard siding that will give the store a colonial look, he added.

“A lot of this extra space will be for infrastructure — storage and cooler space, which we don’t have enough of right now,” Bolduc said.

He also said in response to lighting complaints that lights under the canopy would be hooded and the LED lights on the canopy would be removed.

“LSI [Lighting Services Inc.], which is considered the gold standard for lighting, has determined that with the hoods there would be zero light spill over the property line,” he said.

Gunn closed the public hearing and said the board will vote at a later September meeting, at a time and date to be determined.