We had the opportunity to review the site feasibility traffic study that was completed for the new proposed Longmeadow Middle School and wanted to share a couple of things that stood out. The study states, “Under a consolidated middle school at the Williams Site, existing queues experienced on Williams Street will be exacerbated necessitating improvements focused on reducing and managing queues … A consolidated school at the Glenbrook site has less overall impact on the study area …”.
The traffic report contains a lot of data, 285 pages of tables, capacity analysis, traffic volumes, and Level of Service projections. It is quite comprehensive. I can summarize the study by stating that the Traffic Level of Service on Bliss and Williams Streets will degrade to a Level F, which is the worst level and is considered unacceptable. It also estimates a queue increase of approximately 92 vehicle lengths during the morning peak period, “operating well above capacity.” Now, to be fair, the report does state that the traffic issues may be mitigated to some degree and lists some recommendations, all of which will add to the total cost of the project and are not included in the $152 million cost estimate. So, if the traffic study clearly states that the impact will be less at the Glenbrook site, why was that location eliminated from consideration?
So, let’s talk about one of the possible mitigation strategies. The committee, in an attempt to reduce the long queue of cars dropping off students wants a long road around the perimeter of the site. The goal is to have vehicles waiting on the access road as opposed to sitting on Bliss and Williams Street. The use of words here is important because the committee insists on using the term “driveway” for this road. The zoning restrictions for a road and a driveway are very different, and abutters will want to read up on the impact of having a driveway as opposed to a road running around the perimeter of the school property. A road must have a 15-foot setback from the property line while a driveway has no such setback requirement.
All of this discussion about mitigating traffic issues comes full circle back to how to safely get almost 700 students to a new combined school in the Williams athletic field. Can it be accomplished? Honestly, we do not know, but we have our reservations and are extremely skeptical. We are starting to think that renovating the existing schools and keeping them where they are just might be the best option.
Bill & Terry DeGiulio
Longmeadow
