Traffic numbers at center of Langwood
Published on June 15th, 2005
Proponents for the 550-unit Langwood Commons housing proposal rejected the notion that another independent traffic study will settle the controversy over the project’s vehicular impacts.
According to Simpson Housing, LP, spokesman Bill Caulder, while he fully supports the credibility and accuracy of both petitioner-retained traffic consultant Vanasse Hangen and Brustlin and the BSC Group, a town-hired consulting firm, he would agree to yet another traffic study should the Zoning Board of Appeals request such.
But the developer firmly believes that the true debate around the Langwood Commons’ traffic numbers swirls around predictions that can’t be measured by live traffic counts.
Specifically, Caulder explained that the differences of opinion between proponents and opponents of the housing plan surround the historical traffic patterns at the Boston Medical Regional Center while the hospital was still in operation.
And since live traffic counts will do nothing to ascertain what the former hospital site generated for traffic numbers, a second independent traffic review will do nothing to clear the air surrounding those historical figures — a number the developers contend was around 8200 vehicle trips per day while opponents cite the figure to hover around 2200.
"You’re beating a dead-horse really. If people had valid arguments other than saying you’re going to have gridlock [that would be different]," the Simpson Housing spokesman said.
Agreeing with Caulder, Town Administrator Ron Florino also characterized a second traffic study as a waste of time, given the nature of the debate. And with the town laying off workers due to budget constraints, the Town Administrator will not endorse such a costly proposal with municipal funding.
"They’re questioning the traffic numbers from when the site was in place. So I don’t know how you can make that comparison [with live traffic counts]. The town really doesn’t have any funds for another study," Florino commented.
"And with jobs being eliminated, I’m not going to have three or four studies done. So if someone wanted to donate or specifically earmark that money for another study, I would have that done. I mean, these aren’t inexpensive," the Town Administrator added.
According to Peter Paicos, a physician currently practicing medicine at the BRMC site, the historical traffic trends at the hospital site are legally meaningless, as the medical use has been abandoned for over five-years.
Disputing that viewpoint, Caulder claimed that regardless of whether the use was abandoned, the redevelopment/re-opening of the hospital could happen today as a by-right proposal, resulting in a return to those traffic levels.
"They’re [opponents] going off of existing traffic today, and the hospital is obviously vacant. So that’s how they’re saying it’s going to be a 7000 car increase. They’re using an exaggerated traffic number," Caulder remarked.
"But if the Gutierrez Company just reoccupied the hospital, it would go back up to something like 8200 cars per day," the Simpson Housing spokesman added.
According to Stoneham resident Miriam Regan-Fiore, who has opposed the Gutierrez Company’s plans ever since the original office park proposal was pitched, current traffic conditions need to be utilized not only because the hospital use has been abandoned for five-years, but also because the petitioners’ traffic consultant used stale data from years ago to begin with.
But according to project proponents, VHB reexamined the figures used to calculate its traffic projections according to specifications requested in the BSC Group study. And per the town-hired consulting firms advise, the data included in the traffic models was determined to be accurate.
Specifically, the town’s traffic consultant made note of the fact that some of the traffic counts utilized for VHB’s projections were in fact dated, and suggested that 24-hour counts be conducted.
"It is recommended that recent counts in the study area, if available, should be used to validate the traffic volumes used in this report. On the other hand, 24-hour Automatic Traffic Counts (ATRs) could be obtained at two roadway locations within the study area," BSC engineer Sam Offei-Addo wrote.
"BSC is of the opinion that new traffic counts would not be necessary if the year 2000 traffic counts were within five percent of the current traffic volumes," the traffic consultant furthered.
Making it clear that he was offering his personal opinion and not that of his board, ZBA member Bill Sullivan believed the traffic concerns were overstated to begin with.
And while the former ZBA chairman didn’t rule out the possibility that his board might agree to another traffic study, he felt there was little doubt that the petitioners’ mitigation proposals would improve vehicular flow in the surrounding area.
"There’s really nothing current [being offered for traffic numbers]. The opponents are citing traffic studies from 1984 and the proponent is using numbers from the 1990’s," said Sullivan.
"But myself personally, I think the traffic concerns are way overrated. With any remediation they do, the flow of traffic is going to be much better. And people have to realize this is a mixed-use project, it’s not going to generate the same type of traffic numbers [as the all-office park plans]."
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