Island planning regulators expressed concern that a proposed housing development will potentially increase traffic on Upper Main Street in Edgartown, a stretch of town sandwiched between Stop & Shop and Dairy Queen where traffic can slow to a crawl in the summer.
The project proposed to be built on 238, 240, and 242 Upper Main Street, called “Housing Behind the Dairy Queen,” consists of four apartment buildings that would house 15 year-round rental units with a total of 18 bedrooms. The project lots surround the Dairy Queen in a backwards-L shape. The project would reduce the existing 20 parking spaces behind the ice cream store and the adjacent lot to 18, and the applicant proposes using 11 off-site parking spots. The apartments, including Dairy Queen parking, are planned to be accessible through a one-way, U-shaped driveway.
The applicants are seeking approval from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) before returning to Edgartown officials for further permitting.
In a continued public hearing on Thursday, Daniel LaCivita, a traffic engineer with Vanasse & Associates, Inc., an Andover-based transportation engineering firm hired by the applicants, presented a study that found that there wouldn’t be a noticeable increase in traffic during the peak summer months. According to the study, the project is expected to generate up to eight vehicle trips during the peak travel hours or about one vehicle every six minutes. He said the study’s calculations also took into consideration the current traffic flow of both Dairy Queen and Stop & Shop.
LaCivita also noted some mitigation efforts to help with the traffic, such as a solar-powered pedestrian beacon at a crosswalk across Upper Main Street “in the vicinity of the Pinehurst Road,” which is located south of the project site, as well as compensation to the town for potential traffic delays where Upper Main Street meets Beach Road and Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road.
“Consideration should be given to potentially reconstructing the Upper Main Street-Beach Road triangle to operate under modern roundabout control,” LaCivita said. This is similar to an offer given by developers of Edgartown Gardens, a Chapter 40B housing development the MVC denied in October. Whether the commissioners’ hold the power to regulate these kinds of projects remains to be seen after a decision by the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee deemed they don’t have the authority, and the appeal period is ongoing.
Steven Findlen of Howard Stein Hudson, the engineering firm retained by the MVC to peer-review the study, said while concerns around the project have been gradually taken care of, there are still outstanding issues for the applicants to address, including access for fire trucks and regulation of off-site parking spots.
Commissioners were wary of how parking would be regulated between the residential users and Dairy Queen customers, and despite LaCivita’s report, they continued to relay concerns at the meeting about how more traffic could lead to more dangerous conditions.
Elaine Miller, Tisbury commissioner, said the area could become a “terrible bottleneck.”
“As the Dairy Queen traffic increases, so does the Stop & Shop,” she said. “And you’re talking about the smallest area right there with a great deal of activity.”
Willa Kuh, Chilmark commissioner, highlighted the high number of cyclists and pedestrians who traverse the area and said more traffic could lead to an accident.
“Summer is summer, and people forget their problems, and they have a good time and everybody loves ice cream,” Kuh said. “It’s chaotic, and it’s a tiny space.”
Abutters have also expressed apprehension about the size and proximity of the buildings to homes on Pinehurst Road, as was expressed by Susan Grinblatas on Thursday.
The hearing will continue on June 11.