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"[Millbury] Planning Board member Richard F. Gosselin, who chairs the board, said the board would not make a decision at the hearing because it had not received requested information from developers by last Thursday's deadline. The hearing will reconvene at 8 p.m. Sept. 9 at the school.

"But he was adamant that traffic concerns at McCracken Road and the nearby intersection for the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley be properly mitigated.

"'I am not going to allow you to build a facility… and have people trapped like rats for hours on end because traffic failed on this day or that day,' he said to applause from the audience."

Monday, August 26, 2013

Slots traffic in Millbury still a major concern

PERMIT GRIDLOCK

 

By Susan Spencer, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Stop and start
The conjecture: People who entered the casino from the northwest, on McCracken Road, would most likely try to make a U-turn in the mall, which would further exacerbate congestion there.
Emergencies: Board members also requested that Mass Gaming & Entertainment not only install Opticom systems to allow emergency vehicles to pass through stoplights, but also install the system transmitters in fire and police vehicles.

MILLBURY — Left turns, U-turns, intersections and sight lines drew sharp discussion Monday night between Planning Board members and representatives of a proposed slots parlor developer.

The board held a special permit hearing, continued from Aug. 12, at Millbury Junior/Senior High School.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, has proposed a roughly 110,000-square-foot slots casino on McCracken Road with 1,250 slot machines, multipurpose space, food and beverage venues and a day spa.

The project must receive Planning Board approval for a special permit, among other permits, as well as approval of a host community agreement at a townwide referendum Sept. 24, in order to proceed with its application to the state Gaming Commission.

Planning Board member Richard F. Gosselin, who chairs the board, said the board would not make a decision at the hearing because it had not received requested information from developers by last Thursday's deadline. The hearing will reconvene at 8 p.m. Sept. 9 at the school.

But he was adamant that traffic concerns at McCracken Road and the nearby intersection for the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley be properly mitigated.

"I am not going to allow you to build a facility… and have people trapped like rats for hours on end because traffic failed on this day or that day," he said to applause from the audience.

He asked the developers to install a traffic monitoring system with live video feed to the Police Department so they could provide extra traffic direction if needed.

Developers have proposed prohibiting a left-hand exit from the casino to McCracken Road, although that could be adjusted in emergencies.

Mr. Gosselin told Robert Michaud, principal with MDM Traffic Consultants, that people who had entered the casino from the northwest, on McCracken Road, would most likely try to make a U-turn in the mall, which would further exacerbate congestion there.

Mr. Michaud told the board that since the Aug. 12 presentation, the developer added roadway improvements including: widening the ramp from Route 146 southbound to two lanes, to allow better flow of traffic turning right toward the center of town; improving the Main Street/North Main Street intersection to allow better flow to Route 146 north; and adding more pavement markings on the Main Street bridge coming from McCracken Road and the mall to indicate the two left-turn lanes to the Route 146 north ramp.

"You see there's about a 30 percent reduction in queue length as a result of these enhancements and improvements," Mr. Michaud said.

He said the developer also offered to pay for design work on McCracken Road west of the casino and lend money to the town for land acquisition and improvement work, to be repaid through host community agreement payments.

Joseph Balskus, a traffic engineer with Tighe & Bond, who reviewed the developer's studies for the town, recommended the developers confirm their distribution model of what direction vehicles would come from.

He also asked that the developer install permanent in-ground traffic monitoring sensors and stressed the need for the casino to efficiently manage its porte-cochere entry flow to prevent traffic from backing up at the driveway entrance.

Planning Board member Edd Cote said he hoped the board would include as a permit condition that McCracken Road maintain a dedicated right-turn lane from the direction of the proposed casino into the mall.

Mr. Michaud responded that doing so would reduce the efficient flow of the other lanes at the intersection.

But he agreed to bring the recommendation back to the developers.

Board members also requested that Mass Gaming & Entertainment not only install Opticom systems to allow emergency vehicles to pass through stoplights, but also install the system transmitters in fire and police vehicles.

Developers' representatives said they thought the equipment — which would cost about $30,000 — could be paid for out of the $500,000 in upfront payments to the town under the host community agreement.

But Town Planner Laurie Connors said, "It's very conceivable that ($500,000) would be consumed by personnel."

Ms. Connors also requested that the developer pay for improvements of McCracken Road along the full frontage of the casino property to improve the sight line for the estimated 21 percent of vehicles that would travel from that direction.

"The addition during the Saturday morning peak of these 80 vehicles (per hour) is more than this road can handle," she said.

At 9:15 p.m., dozens of residents stood in lines at microphones in the high school auditorium to offer their comments.

Many were residents of McCracken Road who were concerned about traffic.

One resident from the other side of Route 146, concerned about broader traffic impacts, asked, "Has an impact study on the entire town been done yet?"

He said drivers would know, or find their way, across small local roads throughout the area.

The scene before the hearing, outside the school, was more like a political demonstration than an engineering analysis.

Veronica Prytko, 14, her four sisters and friends manned a No Slots in Millbury table outside the school, greeting residents as they came to the continuation of the Planning Board's hearing.

Besides the handmade "Kids against slots" and "To close to school" (sic) signs held by the girls, ages 8 to 14, the group offered homemade cupcakes for anyone who made a donation to the No Slots effort.

"Who doesn't love cupcakes?" Veronica asked. "They see that we kids are trying to get involved. Even small things can make a difference."

Their mother, Lisa Prytko, said the girls had been involved in a few political campaigns before and wanted to do something about the proposed casino.

"They've gotten very aware of what's happening in town and it's not good for the future — their future — of the town," Ms. Prytko said.

Down the driveway to the school, another group of residents held "Yes" signs in support of the casino.

"A simple case of economics. That's it," said Dennis Leonard, a former teacher, coach and School Committee member.

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