SHREWSBURY – In letters to the Planning Board and in public meetings, Market Basket has criticized the traffic design of a proposed gas station slated for 193 Hartford Turnpike. If constructed, the station would be located directly across the street from the supermarket’s Shrewsbury location in Edgemere Crossing.
Marlborough-based Yatco Energy is the applicant. The project, which originally went before the Planning Board in August, would occupy a 3.9-acre lot that currently has two one-story masonry buildings.
A 7,000-square-foot building would be constructed, which would include a convenience store, drive-through window, quick-serve restaurant, and six gas pumps. A 4,800-square-foot car wash would be built adjacent to the gas station.
Motorists could enter the site via two driveways on Route 20: one entrance-exit middle driveway leading directly to the parking and fuel pumps, and one entrance-only easterly driveway serving mostly trucks and offering direct access to the site’s two diesel pumps. In addition, the project would have an entrance-exit off Lake Street, which meets Route 20 at a signalized intersection that also serves as an entrance to Market Basket.
Market Basket has said there are several potential hazards with the design. Motorists who exit the site would be allowed to make left-hand turns from the “middle driveway” onto Route 20 eastbound. The Lake Street entrance-exit is also close to the signalized intersection, potentially creating an intersection that could be difficult to navigate and negatively impact the supermarket.
“We have two concerns. Given the high travel speeds on Hartford Turnpike, and the length of signal queues, the left-turn movement — especially by tractor-trailers onto Hartford Turnpike — shown in the plans has the potential to create substantial safety and congestion issues,” said Jared Fiore, an attorney representing Market Basket, on Dec. 5.
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“The location of the project’s access driveway onto Lake Street shown on the plans is very close to the Hartford Turnpike-Lake Street signal and has the potential to create serious congestion issues along Lake Street,” he continued. “It may have the effect of negating any of the benefits … to the Lake Street intersection.”
MDM Transportation Consultants, Inc., which performed traffic analysis for the applicant, disagreed with Market Basket’s characterization of the traffic. According to MDM, the vast majority of trucks travel westbound on Route 20, and trucks taking the “middle driveway” left-hand turn onto Route 20 eastbound would be a “low-volume” movement. Approximately two tractor-trailers per hour would make the turn, the firm said.
“We’ve evaluated the location. We’ve tested it for sight-lines, operations, and queuing. We feel that it represents an appropriate location. To the extent MassDOT sees any reason to restrict particularly the left-turn movement — that’s subject to further discussion,” said MDM Managing Principal Robert Michaud.
The Lake Street entrance-exit would also be a “low-volume” driveway, said MDM.
“We do not expect that the driveway, under any peak hour or any point in the day, would be a high-volume driveway … Traffic would be pass-by traffic,” Michaud said. “The types of uses that are being proposed here generate activity from existing traffic streams … We don’t expect this to be a high ‘new traffic’ generator.”
The Planning Board delayed its decision at the request of Donald O’Neill, an attorney representing Yatco, who asked to continue the hearing until MassDOT provides feedback.
“We feel that the ultimate deciding agency in that regard is MassDOT … We are going through a MEPA process for this project, we’re about halfway through. As part of that process, they do look at issues like traffic onto Lake Street and onto Route 20 … We feel quite sure that if they determine that it’s not safe, they’re not going to allow it,” he said.
Michaud, for his part, appeared willing to work with Market Basket.
“We understand their concern that Lake Street operations are critical. From their perspective, of course, it’s a principal means of having customers visit their site. I have had specific discussions with their traffic engineer on appropriate ways this developer might [alleviate] these concerns,” he said.
