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Home My WebLink About02/23/2023 - Responce to 1st Traffic & Parking Peer Review A /V'EiA /V Technical Excellence Practical E r nce Client Responsiveness February 23, 2023 Jean Enright, Planning Director Town of North Andover 120 Main Street North Andover, MA 01845 Re: Traffic& Parking Peer Review: Comment Response Proposed Mixed-Use Development 149 Main Street North Andover, MA Langan Project No. : 151028501 Dear Ms. Enright: On behalf of Crespo Group, Langan is submitting this traffic engineering comment response letter for the proposed mixed-use development at 149 Main Street in North Andover, MA. Enclosed please find our responses to a letter addressed to you from Kevin R. Dandrade, PE, PTOE, Principal, of TEC, Inc., dated December 16, 2022. Below please find each comment followed by our response in bold. PEER REVIEW COMMENTS 1. Langan estimated the site trip generation for the proposed mixed-use development. Development includes twenty-four residential units and approximately 6,700 square-feet of ground floor intensive commercial use. Using standard trip rates published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) publication entitled, Trip Generation, 11th Edition. They employed Land Use Code (LUC) 220— Multifamily Housing (Low-Rise) and LUC 822 —Strip Retail Plaza (<40,000 SF). Langan did not take credit for the existing unoccupied buildings and reasonably calculated the number of new trips. The proposed level of traffic will be comparable to the trip generating characteristics for the former bank use and will not result in a noticeable change in traffic in this area. No response required. COMMENT RESPONSE:Acknowledged. 2. Langan estimated the site's parking demand for the proposed mixed-use development using standard parking demand rates published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) publication entitled, Parking Generation, 5t" Edition. They employed Land Use Code (LUC) 220 — Multifamily Residential Use and LUC 820 — Shopping Center. These rates are reasonable for a non-restaurant retail type of use. TEC does not recommend a restaurant or cafe on this site given the higher parking demand (greater than 10 spaces per 1,000 SF), 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1310 Boston, MA 02114 .824�91,00 IF 17.824.9101 www.11,ang,ain.com New Jersey York Cnne.cfici,jt W5 hiusett Pennsylvania wahinn, hi 1111nor FloridaemasArizona*Colorado WashingtonCalifornia Proposed Mixed-Use Development February 23, 2023 149 Main Street Page 2 of 5 North Andover, MA Langan Project No. : 151028501 which may also compete with the residential parking needs during the overlapping morning and evening peak hours. COMMENT RESPONSE: Acknowledged. Restaurant use is not proposed for this Project at this time. 3. The Town's zoning allows a parking ratio of 4.5 per 1,000 square feet for a medical office use, whereas a clinic use would have a higher demand. ITE data suggests that the 851n percentile parking demand for a medical-dental office will be similar to the Town's rate listed above. Given the downtown overlay district, TEC believes that the actual parking demand for a medical-dental office could be even lower due to the mix of other uses in close proximity to the site and the potential for shared trips. COMMENT RESPONSE:Acknowledged. 4. The Town should consider limiting the use of the proposed tandem parking spaces to the tenants of the 2-bedroom residential units given the operational challenges associated with the logistics of using the inner stall. TEC recommends that the Applicant formally assign and sign/number the spaces accordingly. COMMENT RESPONSE: The Applicant agrees to this recommendation. 5. The parking spaces under the proposed building will be difficult to access given the presence of structural columns and constraints of the proposed 20-foot travel aisle. However, these residential spaces are not likely to see considerable turnover. COMMENT RESPONSE: These tandem parking spaces will be assigned to the residential uses and are not expected have a high turnover. 6. The Applicant seeks a reduction of 35 percent in parking supply when compared to the town's zoning bylaws. Based on the parking utilization assessment, the Town appears to have surplus on-street parking stalls available for the proposed commercial use within the "downtown area" limits as defined by Section 195-8.4 A, Note 7. COMMENT RESPONSE:Acknowledged but since the peer review letter was received, the Applicant has identified a total of 49 on-street parking spaces within a radius of 200 feet of the site that are identified as parking spaces available for commercial uses where a total of 40 parking spaces are required under the Parking Table of the Zoning Bylaw. is the other comments are confirmed in the Updated Traffic Assessment & Parking Utilization Study, dated February 23, 2023, where additional data was collected during a regular Sunday and within a 200-foot radius of the site again on February 14 and 15. 7. TEC agrees with the Applicant's proposal to limit the driveway flow to one-way clockwise around the building. However, the use of a 20-foot access aisle will be challenging for high- turnover parking needs that may be associated with the proposed retail use because there LA/VAN ftArmomm Am Proposed Mixed-Use Development February 23, 2023 149 Main Street Page 3 of 5 North Andover, MA Langan Project No. : 151028501 are structural elements of the building, such as columns, at the edge of the aisle. Although the 20-foot aisle is permitted in the Town's zoning regulations, it may be prudent to consider angled parking stalls along the southerly edge of the parcel to facilitate easier parking maneuvers. This may affect the proposed landscape buffer strip. COMMENT RESPONSE: The proposed 20-foot aisle is one-way and is suitable for the proposed uses. Angled parking will result in a loss of parking spaces and landscape area, which is not practical for this project. 8. TEC recommends that the project team review the fire truck access with the Fire Department. There are areas near the proposed exit where the truck movement may conflict with the curb line or may not provide sufficient flexibility for snowbanks. COMMENT RESPONSE: Acknowledged. We have submitted the plans, including a swept path analysis and snow management plan, to the Fire Department for review. 9. The site plan does not depict an area for loading or dumpster operations for the residential and commercial uses. The Applicant should provide a description of their intended loading operations either on-site or off-site. COMMENT RESPONSE: The trash enclosure will be located within the building along drive aisle near the Main Street entrance,see below. Staff will pull out trash bins when needed for the day of scheduled trash pickup, and replace the emptied trash bins within the building. iu 1P 9 u lu, II ou �" RI SPOT Y 06DA.'dPu.arT �' AB A SPOT N q 4 I III Y lu lui Y I IY 1 N M I it pl I Pop I Y Y Vi �M' 1ih I Y Y Q Po .,Ipi x u Y Y u I Id „w I II IVl I m on n I V YI Y I I M UI IN I I I I iu IVi r ff M1 , Y III uum uuu uuuu uuuu m uum Y — r ry LR",��U «TER FU MP TWAABOVE SIR .I w 1117111711711711111 JLJ M�"ESTIIBI.WI L � ,r_ w n I tl,�� I� W WI IMP o I ur+rr r % urr urn TRIr: LA/VftAN Proposed Mixed-Use Development February 23, 2023 149 Main Street Page 4 of 5 North Andover, MA Langan Project No. : 151028501 10. The Applicant should review any temporary traffic control plans with the Department of Public Works for work related to the utility modifications within Main Street. Given the extent of trenching to terminate existing services and construct new services, TEC recommends that the Planning Board consider a requirement for milling, overlay, and new roadway striping within Main Street along the property frontage. COMMENT RESPONSE. Acknowledged. 11. The Langan traffic study documented the sight lines for the proposed driveway location on Second Street at approximately 300 feet. This assessment does not appear to consider the presence of vehicles that may be parked on Second Street. At a minimum, TEC recommends that the sight lines meet the minimum safe stopping sight distance recommendations for approximately 20 miles per hour (115 feet). This assumed speed would be reasonable for vehicles approaching the stop sign at the end of Second Street or turning from Main Street onto Second Street. COMMENT RESPONSE. Acknowledged. We have revised the sight line figures to address the comments and include the intersection of Second Street and Main Street. Sight lines function in accordance with applicable standards. 12. The study did not describe the sight distance characteristics for the intersection of Main Street at Second Street, which is currently obstructed by the existing building to the south and partially obscured by on-street parking to the north. The property is located on the "inside" of the horizontal curve on Main Street. TEC recommends that the proposed building edge be offset from the front property line to provide the AASHTO-recommended intersection sight distance of 280 feet for the 25-mph posted speed zone in front of the site. COMMENT RESPONSE. Acknowledged. We have revised the sight line figures to address the comments and include the intersection of Second Street and Main Street. It should be noted that the decision point of the departure sight triangle is made from the edge of the major road travel way as stated in section 9.5.3.2.1 of the AASHTO Green Book. This section also states that when needed, drivers will stop the front of their vehicle 6.5 feet or less from the edge of the major road travel way. In the case of the intersection of Second Street and Main Street, where parking is allowed on both sides (east and west of Second Street), the decision point will be the edge of the parking lane, allowing drivers a safe refuge and proper sight distance. LA/VAN ftArmomm Proposed Mixed-Use Development February 23, 2023 149 Main Street Page 5 of 5 North Andover, MA Langan Project No. : 151028501 Sincerely, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. Maximo Polanco Project Engineer cc: Daniel Clarey (Langan) Hilary Holmes (Langan) John Smolak (Smolak &Vaughan) Wangan.com\data\BOS\data5\151028501\Project Data\Correspondence\Comment Response\23 February 2023 Comment Response-North Andover.docx LA/VftAN