Roche Bros delivery hours amended again
By Catie Foertsch Community Reporter

Westborough - Roche Bros representatives came to the Planning Board Oct. 2 to ask for relief from the reduced delivery hours the board imposed to try to protect area residents from early morning noise. Although the Bay State Commons grocery store didn't get the hours it wanted, it did get a compromise, and will be able to deliver groceries from tractor trailer trucks starting at 6 a.m.

Previously, the Planning Board was told by Bay State Commons Project Manager Lou Petra that the sounddeadening wall on Brigham Street, which was supposed to be installed by the shopping center's Oct. 26 opening, wouldn't be up until 2008. The Planning Board then reduced morning delivery hours for tractor trailers going to the Roche Bros loading docks, which are close to Brigham residents. The new schedule only allowed tractor trailer early morning deliveries from 7 to 8 a.m.

Roche Bros Director of Facilities and Marketing Richard Ordway and project management consultant Frank Killilea came to the Oct. 2 meeting armed with a letter from Police Chief Alan Gordon, who recommended that they be allowed deliveries starting at 5 a.m., and then allowed to make deliveries outside of peak traffic times.

Killilea told the board that if deliveries had to be made with smaller trucks that do not have regulated delivery times, the noise would be greater because "one 24-foot truck makes just as much noise as a 45-foot truck."

Planning Board chair Edward Newton disagreed.

The board approved Gordon's recommended times with one change: to only allow morning deliveries starting at 6 a.m.

"If we hear a lot of complaints we will revisit this," Newton said.

The allowed delivery hours are now 6 to 8 a.m., 9 to 11:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a police officer on site to help the trucks enter the rotary, 3 to 4:30 p.m., and then 6:30 to 10 p.m.