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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-05-19_0 Prescott Street Traffic VHB - Peer Review - 3rd letter - Consultant Review - 0 Prescott Street 5/19/2026 To: Jean Enright Date: May 19, 2026 Planning Director Town of North Andover Project #: 201270.000 120 Main Street North Andover, MA 01845 From: Michael A. Santos, PE, PTOE Re: Proposed Residential Development Vinod Kalikiri, PE, PTOE 0 Prescott Street North Andover, Massachusetts Traffic Peer Review #3 Overview On behalf of the Town of North Andover, VHB has reviewed responses prepared by Vanasse & Associates, Inc. (VAI) in letters dated April 13 and April 24, 2026 that address comments in initial December 26, 2025 peer review letter and the follow-up peer review letter dated March 13, 2026. The April 13, 2026 response letter addressed remaining comments in our follow-up peer review letter with the exception of a parking study for the Mill Complex. The April 24, 2026 response letter includes a parking study. Based on the review of the additional information, VHB has determined that all pending comments have been satisfactorily addressed, and therefore the technical peer review is complete. The following bulleted items summarize The comment numbers corresponds to the original VHB comments from the December 26, 2025 comment letter. Comment 10: VHB requests that the Applicant provide a comparison of the driveway counts for the Avalon residential development and the trip distribution patterns used in the TIA. This comparison should be used to validate the north-south traffic split for the trip distribution pattern used in the TIA. Response Summary: The Applicant provide a comparison of the directional distribution of the turning movement counts at the Avalon North Andover driveway and the trip distribution that was used to develop travel patterns for the Project. The turning movement counts indicate that in the morning, 36 percent of the existing exiting traffic at the driveway travels north and 64 percent travels south. In the evening, 38 percent of the entering traffic enters from the north and 62 percent enters from the south. The trip distribution used in the October 2025 TIA assumed that 40 percent of the Project traffic will be oriented to/from the north and 60 percent to/from the south. The material provided by the Applicant confirms that the trip distribution patterns used in the October 2025 TIA are consistent with observed traffic volumes at the Avalon North Andover driveway. No additional follow-up by VHB is necessary. Jean Enright Ref: 201270.000 May 19, 2026 Page 2 Comment 16: VHB recommends that if signs and landscaping are installed within the sight triangles that they are designed and maintained to not restrict lines of sight. Snow accumulations should be removed where they may impede sight lines. The sight distance diagram should also show desired and available lines of sight for ISD at the driveway and SSD at the crosswalk. Response Summary: The Applicant provided the requested sight distance diagrams for ISD at the driveway and SSD at the crosswalk. The diagrams indicate that the available ISD at the intersection exceeds the desirable distance when looking to the north on High Street. The diagrams show that the available ISD to the south meets the required minimum distance. The diagrams also show that the required SSD is provided for vehicles approaching the crosswalk. No additional follow-up by VHB is necessary. VHB notes that the required sight distances are provided at the intersection. The recommended ISD for vehicles exiting the driveway looking south on High Street is limited by an existing building. The exhibit prepared by the that the recommended ISD can be satisfied when vehicles pull up closer to the edge of the roadway rather than 14.5 feet behind the curb line. Comment 24: VHB recommends that the Applicant conduct a post-occupancy monitoring study to review operations at the westernmost on-site driveway that intersects the north side of the East Mill driveway to determine if there are issues related to vehicles entering the driveway. Monitoring should be conducted upon 75 percent occupancy of the Project. Specifically, queues should be monitored to determine if there are impacts to the intersection of High Street at the East Mill driveway and at the westernmost on-site driveway. If the monitoring study finds that vehicles entering the westerly driveway have impacts to High Street, additional measures should be undertaken at the driveway. Specifically, restrictions to entering vehicles at the westerly driveway should be considered. The post-occupancy monitoring study should be conducted in consultation with the Town of North Andover Engineering and Planning Departments. Response Summary: The Applicant noted that they are willing to accept the condition of a post-occupancy monitoring study with the stipulation that any follow-up actions are limited to signage, pavement markings, and turn restrictions. No additional follow-up is necessary. VHB recommends that the scope of the post- Engineering departments. Comment 30: VHB requests clarification on whether the Applicant plans to equip any parking spaces with EV equipment. The Applicant should discuss with the town as to whether EV charging stations should be provided at this time to meet the demands of the future residents. Jean Enright Ref: 201270.000 May 19, 2026 Page 3 Response Summary: The Applicant noted that they will discuss the EV accommodations with Town staff. They noted that the installation of EV spaces will be consistent with past practices in other areas of East and West Mill and will activate the EV-ready spaces based on marked demand. No additional follow-up by VHB is necessary. Comment 31: VHB requests that the Applicant confirm the vehicle movements on the turning templates are for the largest emergency vehicle for the Town of North Andover. The Applicant should also confirm if the diagrams have been reviewed and approved by the Town of North Andover Fire Department. Response Summary: The Applicant noted that the Fire Department reviewed the swept path analysis for emergency vehicles. The Fire Department noted that the grades on roads connecting the lower parking area to the upper parking area cannot exceed 10 percent. The Applicant noted that the final civil plans will comply with this request. No additional follow-up is necessary. The final plans should comply with the Fire the parking areas. The following comment was not included in the initial peer review letter, but should be addressed by the Applicant: Comment 32: VHB recommends that the Applicant conduct a post-construction traffic monitoring study upon 75 percent occupancy of the Project. The traffic monitoring study should collect new traffic counts at the three site driveways that intersect the East Mill driveway and at the intersection of High Street/East Mill driveway. The study should evaluate the following items: Conduct parking utilization counts within the Mill Complex and compare to the results of the parking study that the Applicant noted that they will prepare as a follow-up to their response letter Evaluate queues and traffic volumes along the East Mill driveway to determine if there are any impacts within the East Mill complex and along High Street, as noted in the response summary for Comment 24. Compare observed traffic volumes with the future traffic volumes projected in the TIAS. Determine if there are any operational or safety issues at the site driveway, specifically for vehicles entering and exiting the Project and any blockages for through traffic along High Street and the East Mill driveway. The study should be submitted to and reviewed by appropriate Town staff and should propose specific improvements if any operational or safety issues are identified. Jean Enright Ref: 201270.000 May 19, 2026 Page 4 Response Summary: The Applicant noted that they are willing to accept the condition of a traffic and monitoring study. No additional follow-up by VHB is necessary. As noted in Comment 24, VHB recommends that the scope of the post-occupancy monitoring study be developed in consultation with The following two additional comments were made by Board members at the January 20, 2026 Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing. ZBA Comment 1: The intersection \[of Sutton Street at High Street\] was discussed by both the ZBA and during the public comment as being a critical intersection close to the project site. The Applicant had noted at the hearing that recent existing traffic data for the intersection may be available from another studyit is recommended that the Applicant use available record traffic data for the intersection to perform capacity analysis as well as a crash data review. Any potential improvement needs could be identified for the Townfuture consideration. Response Summary: The Applicant conducted new traffic counts at this intersection in March 2026. Evaluations of traffic operations and motor vehicle crashes at the intersection were provided in the April 13, 2026 response letter. The motor vehicle crash history does not indicate any identifiable patterns in the crash occurrences at the intersection. The operations analysis was conducted for both the morning and evening peak hour periods for the Existing, No-Build, and Build conditions. The operations analysis showed that the High Street northbound approach at the intersection currently operates over capacity during the weekday evening peak hour and operates at LOS F during bothpeak hours. The Applicant provided traffic volume networks that indicate the Project could add approximately 22 to 23 new trips to the intersection during the peak hours. The analysis shows that this level of traffic increase could result in queue increases of 1 to 2 vehicles along the High Street northbound approach during the peak hours. VHB reviewed the traffic and safety evaluations, analysis tables, and technical documentation related to the analysis at the intersection of Sutton Road at High Street. VHB acknowledges that the High Street approach to Sutton Street is currently operating at or over capacity and that some of the Project-related trips will travel through this intersection. Should the Town seek to implement potential future improvements at this intersection, it is recommended that an initial planning study be conducted to identify any existing operational, geometric, and safety deficiencies and develop potential improvement strategies. Jean Enright Ref: 201270.000 May 19, 2026 Page 5 The following comments are related to the requested parking study. Comments 12, 13, 14, 23, and 29 in the December 26, 2025 peer review letter were related to existing parking occupancy and supply in proximity to the Project site and estimated parking demand for the Project. Those comments requested that a parking study be conducted to identify the existing parking usage within the Mill Complex and on the surrounding roadways and to develop future parking demand estimates for the Project. The intent of the comments in our December 26, 2025 peer review letter was to gain an understanding the existing parking demand and to determine if the Project would have any impacts to the future parking supply. The following summarizes the parking study and provides VHBs comments for each component of that study. Summary: The Applicant conducted a parking study with the requested exhibits, land uses, and parking use limitations in the April 24, 2026 parking study. on the parking study. Existing Parking and Land Use Inventory The parking study provided a detailed inventory of the existing parking spaces within the Mill Complex and on-street parking spaces along High Street, Water Street, and Elm Street within an approximately 5-minute walk of the site. The inventory identified the regulations of the parking spaces including those that had no restrictions, short-term visitor parking, tenant-reserved spaces, and handicap spaces. The existing usable spaces within the 0 Prescott Street garage on the Project site were also included. The Applicant noted that some of the spaces within the garage were not accessible and therefore were not included in the parking inventory. Based on the information in the parking study, a total of 1,139 spaces exist within the Mill Complex and along the surrounding roadways within a 5-minute walk to the site. The parking study indicates that a total of 655 parking spaces are unrestricted before 7:00 PM. The study notes that there are some spaces that are only restricted to tenant/visitor parking between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM and they become available to all users after 7:00 PM. A total of 757 unrestricted spaces are available after 7:00 PM. VHB Comment: The parking and land use inventory provided in the parking study addresses Comments in the December 26, 2025 peer review memo. VHB notes that the parking study indicates that the existing site contains a total of 372 parking spaces, distributed between the garage and the surface parking lot. A total of 324 of these parking spaces are currently unrestricted. A total of 48 spaces within the surface lot are restricted to short-term visitor parking or are reserved for tenants only. These spaces will be replaced by the Projec506 spaces (397 spaces in a new garage and 109 surface spaces to remain as part of the Project). VHB notes that the parking supply of 506 is an increase of 9 spaces compared to what was previously reviewed. This change in parking supply will not have any material impact on any previous commentary offered by VHB. Jean Enright Ref: 201270.000 May 19, 2026 Page 6 Existing Parking Demand Observations Parking demand observations were conducted on Friday March 20, 2026 from 6:00 9:00 PM and on Wednesday March 25, 2026 from 7:00 AM 7:00 PM, as discussed at the ZBA hearing for the Project. The parking demand observations focused on the unrestricted parking spaces (655 before 7:00 PM and 757 after 7:00 PM). The parking demand observations indicate that the peak parking demand occurs at 12:00 PM, with a total of 328 parked vehicles and 327 available unregulated spaces. The Friday evening peak parking demand occurs at 7:00 PM, with 212 parked vehicles and 545 available unregulated parking spaces. VHB Comment: The existing parking demand observations show that the maximum occupancy of the unrestricted spaces is approximately 50 percent of the total supply. The existing parking demand study was conducted during the appropriate time periods for analysis. Project Parking Demand Parking demand estimates were developed by the Applicant based on available data in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Parking Generation Manual. Based on this assessment, the th Project would be expected to have an average peak parking demand of 373 vehicles and an 85 percentile peak parking demand of 431 vehicles. The study also provided a time-of-day parking demand distribution for the Project. Based on this th time-of-85 percentile parking demand during the peak periods identified in the parking occupancy observations is 225 vehicles at 12:00 PM and 294 vehicles at 7:00 PM on a Friday. The parking demand estimates also include the expected number of available parking spaces throughout the day and accounts for the increase in number of parking spaces on the site. The Applicant stated that the majority of the uses within the Mill complex are office or research and development uses and that those uses have peak parking demands between 11:00 AM 2:00 PM. VHB Comment: VHB reviewed the parking demand estimates and compared them with the existing parking demand for the unrestricted spaces within the Mill Complex. Based on the information provided in the parking study, the overall parking supply with the construction of the Project will exceed the overall parking demand (existing demand plus the Project) by at least 273 spaces. analysis for the Mill Complex was calculated appropriately, and VHB concurs with the methodology used to develop the future parking demand for the Project. The Applicant also provided a map of pedestrian travel paths from the parking areas evaluated and the Project site and indicated that all unrestricted parking spaces are within a 4-minute walk of the Project site. Jean Enright Ref: 201270.000 May 19, 2026 Page 7 VHB concurs with the conclusions of the parking study that state the number of parking spaces available to residents of the Project and users of the Mill complex will exceed the number of parking spaces for the existing and proposed uses. VHB notes that this conclusion is based on the assumption that a four-minute or less walk between parking space and destination would serve the majority of visitors that use the parking areas. The above -related materials submitted for the Project. Formal responses by the Applicant are not needed. VHB will continue this review through participation in upcoming ZBA hearings, as requested to provide additional commentary and discussion. Please contact VHB if there are any questions or if any aspect of the review requires further discussion.