The traffic
study estimated only the number of trips (i.e. volume) theoretically
generated by a Town Center and a 40B housing complex. Sounds important,
right? Not really. Understanding the number of trips is meaningless without
also looking at how much traffic the roads can handle (i.e., capacity).
When roads
have the capacity to handle the traffic volume then the level of service (LoS)
is good. When roads are over-capacity then the LoS is poor. Mitigating
factors that influence road capacity (and therefore LoS) are road design,
traffic signals, turning movements and other factors.
The only way
to compare the traffic impact of the Town Center and the 40B proposals is to
compare the LoS for each. The number of trips on its own gives no indication
of traffic flow and LoS.
And guess
what, the level of service for Town Center is the same or better than the
40B. Traffic studies show that the level of service at Route 27/126 near the
library will be rated "A" for the Town Center with mitigation, and "F" for
the housing complex. The level of service is the same at Route 20/27 for
both options.
Will Town
Center generate more trips than the 40B? Yes. Will the traffic congestion be
worse than the 40B? No. Thanks to the millions of dollars of mitigation paid
for by the property owner the Town Center LoS will be the same or better
than the 40B.
The roads
around Town Center will be safer, too. There have been over 70 accidents at
the Route 27/126 intersection over the past three years. Fortunately there
have been no fatalities up to this point.
Local
neighborhood traffic will improve as well. When do drivers take detours onto
local roads? When the main routes are congested. If you address congestion
on the main routes and intersections then local streets won't be used as
shortcuts.
Let's take
one last look at the trip estimates from the traffic study. During his
presentation Kevin acknowledged that the number of trips estimated for the
Town Center were high because of double counting.
His trip
estimates don't reflect the fact that Wayland residents drive their cars
today to shop. Kevin assumed that all trips to the Town Center were new
trips. Instead, many of these so-called new trips will simply be current
drivers going to a new location. Instead of driving to Sudbury Farms for
groceries, for example, drivers will stop at the Town Center grocery store.
It is not a new trip adding traffic volume.
When you go
to vote at special Town Meeting please keep in mind these important points.
First, the only true measure of traffic impact is the level of service.
Second, the level of service for the Town Center will be the same or better
than the 40B housing complex. Third, the property owner pays for all
mitigation with the Town Center and taxpayers foot the bill under the 40B.
Fourth, I believe, and Kevin concurred, the mixed-use project is a best land
use for this site. We can have 40B in other parts of town and still get 25
affordable housing units for this project.
Please join
me in voting "yes" for Town Center on May 3. Town Center provides
much-needed traffic mitigation, a gain of $710,000 per year in tax revenue,
a $3 million gift and many other financial and lifestyle benefits. The
vacant Raytheon site now generates $230,000 per year in taxes and the 40B
would be less than that at $200,000.
If we do not
vote for the best land use mixed-use project, we will walk away from a net
$510,000 per year forever that will help avoid future overrides. Traffic
will get worse and the neighborhoods will get more traffic with no money to
pay for mitigation.
We need a
two-thirds majority to win so I urge you to attend special Town Meeting and
vote "yes" for Town Center.
Dan Mesnick
is a transportation planner with a master's degree from MIT in city planning
and 25 years of practical experience in transport planning and analysis,
traffic engineering and traffic mitigation. He has just been elected to the
Wayland Planning Board.
