Agawam councilors, residents question intersection project

Alfred Pajer, owner of Pajer Superette, argues with DPW Mario Mazza (not pictured) about plans to update the intersection in front of his shop.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

AGAWAM — The community turned out in force on April 27 to ask questions of Mayor Christopher Johnson and department heads about the need to change an intersection at the cost of a beloved business’s parking lot.

Pajer Superette, referred to by residents as “Pajer’s,” sits on the corner of Cooper and Rowley streets where they meet Suffield Street.

In 2023, the city was approved for a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Community Mitigation Fund to design an updated intersection with safety improvements because Suffield Street is a throughway from Connecticut to the MGM Springfield casino. A subsequent $889,100 community mitigation grant was awarded for construction of the project, and the town would need to provide an $800,000 match. The grant funding expires on June 30, Mazza said, adding that he was trying to secure an extension, but the town “needs to show construction starting soon.”

Mazza said that early in the design process, the town considered a roundabout. However, the idea was scrapped because it would not fit well in the available space, and the town would need to take a significant amount of private land. Instead, the team working on the project settled on improvements to the signalized intersection. The improvements include dedicated left turn lanes, technology that would change the light to green when an emergency vehicle’s flashing lights approach and crosswalks that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. While most of the sidewalk would be flat concrete that is level with the street, the corner of the lot would need to be rounded, and a curb and bollards would be installed to protect pedestrians waiting to cross the street.

Most of the city councilors and residents who spoke at the April 21 meeting expressed support for updating the traffic lights, and some were in favor of a left turn lane. However, nearly everyone who spoke was against adding sidewalks and updating the crosswalks at the intersection because it would require an easement and a sidewalk that would cut into the corner of Pajer’s parking lot.

Mazza explained that easements do not involve taking the land. Instead, the town pays the property owner a one-time fee to access the land, sometimes temporarily, other times, as with Pajer’s, it is permanent.

Town Engineer Michelle Chase presented mock-ups of the parking at Pajer’s and the number of spaces the shop would lose due to the sidewalk and curb at the corner. Because the lot is unstriped, she estimated there are currently nine 10-foot wide parking spaces in front of the building, two on the side and another seven in back, totaling 18. She said the plan would result in the loss of the two spaces in front of the building, closest to the street corner. If the spaces were striped and shrunken to a standard 9-foot width, she said, there would still be 16 spaces and room for a legally required accessible space.

Councilor Anthony Suffriti pointed out that Chase assumed there were four parking spaces in front of a house that is adjacent to the shop. If Pajer sold the house in the future, those spaces would not be available. Chase acknowledged that, reducing her estimate to 14 existing parking spaces and 12 spaces if the sidewalk were constructed.

Pajer disagreed with Chase’s assessment. He said four cars park on the side of the building, and he would lose two of those as well as the ones in the front. He estimated that to be a loss of $120 worth of sales per week.

Chase said she, DPW Director Mario Mazza and engineering company VHB, with which the town contracted for the project, took an in-depth look at Pajer’s property when drafting the design. Mazza and Chase said they have been in conversation with business owner Alfred Pajer over the past few years, and compromises have already been made, including trimming the curbed area by three feet on one side of the corner and 12 feet on the other.

Several city councilors attempted to find further compromise. “I would like to see if we can come together,” said Councilor George Bitzas, urging people to use “common sense.

Councilor Cecilia Calabrese asked if the town could update the traffic signals and crosswalks but not include the rest of the project. Johnson said the crosswalks cannot be done without the easements. City Council President Anthony Russo asked if the other crosswalks at the intersection could be done, leaving Pajer’s corner alone. Mazza later explained that pedestrians must be able to access all locations in the intersection, or the crosswalk would not be ADA compliant. If the intersection is not ADA compliant, the state will take back the funding, leaving Agawam on the hook for the whole project cost.

Councilor Ed Borgatti suggested moving the crosswalks back from the corner, but Mazza said “mid-block” crosswalks are dangerous because vehicles are traveling at full speed, rather than slowing as they approach the light. Borgatti also suggested removing a utility pole owned by Eversource to create more parking. Johnson said he had spoken to Eversource, and they agreed to move the pole, but it would not likely happen until 2027.

Councilor Tom Hendrickson asked about creating parking on property Pajer owns across the street. Mazza told him, “We offered to do it for him.” However, residents nixed the idea of parking across the street, saying it would be dangerous to cross two roads to get to the store.

“I understand the need for ADA compliance,” said Councilor Robert Rossi, but because the intersection is “not a hotbed of pedestrian activity,” the sidewalks are not needed. “The City Council has a right to reject or even modify any portion of that, and we won’t lose one nickel,” Rossi said, before addressing Johnson. “Don’t shake your head, Mr. Mayor, because that happens to be the law,” he said, receiving a round of applause from the residents.

Chase spoke to the idea that pedestrians do not walk in the area. She said she has received requests to extend the sidewalks that already exist on Cooper, Rowley and Suffield streets.

Councilor Christine Rickmon asked a series of questions before declaring that the application for the project contained false information because stakeholder engagement had not been completed prior.

Pajer said the town was basing the project off estimates and did not have firm numbers, but Chase explained, “That is the process.” Borgatti defended Chase, saying she has been “nothing but transparent.” Russo agreed, saying she has always been “open and honest around this project.”

When asked by Pajer, Mazza estimated that upgrading only the lights would cost about $900,000. Pajer said the town’s estimate for the project showed the lights would cost a third of that. The two began to argue when Mazza said the town can only have the lights done for less because it is part of the larger project.

While most residents spoke against the project, one person said that if Agawam decided not to install the ADA accessible sidewalks and crosswalks and an accident occurred, the town would be liable because it had the opportunity to do so.

The easements must be voted on by the second week in May if the town is to meet the expiration deadline. If the project is approved, Mazza said construction would begin in June and be “substantially” complete by November, although if the weather causes delays, some work may be needed in spring 2027.

“This is not a done deal,” Russo assured the residents.