Traffic study stirs concerns among residents regarding the proposed Residences at Hawthorne subdivision

Talks regarding the Residences at Hawthorne, a proposed housing subdivision that would consist of 147 housing units at the site of the old Hawthorne Country Club, continued with a discussion about the results of a Transportation Impact Assessment.

The traffic study looked at the potential impacts on the transportation infrastructure associated with the proposed development, including on increased traffic flow, safety and how many additional trips are expected during rush hours.

The study’s findings were met with skepticism from residents during a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, who questioned whether all the factors that could contribute to traffic were considered and just how safe Tucker Road truly is.

Roy Bertalotto, who lives near the site of the proposed subdivision, called traffic on Tucker Road “a disaster” and said he has seen “accident after accident.”

“I have lended assistance with bloody towels to more accident victims than you could possibly imagine,” he said.

According to Jeffrey Dirk, managing partner at Vanasse & Associates Inc., which conducted the study, the study showed that crash rates on Tucker Road were lower than the state average and that there weren’t any high crash locations. An area is considered a high crash location based on the severity of crashes rather than the crash rate.

“It’s not on the state’s high crashing list because there isn’t any number of personal injury crashes and things like that,” he said.

Traffic concerns included whether the study factored in traffic from Friends Academy, how the development would affect the Allen Street and Slocum Road intersection and whether the results truly reflected the traffic in and out of Dartmouth High School.

Resident Stephanie Raczka pointed out that seniors, who end the school year earlier than students in grades nine through 11, contribute to the flow of traffic.

Dirk stated that the traffic study was conducted on Wednesday, May 14, which, according to the school district calendar, was in the middle of the Advanced Placement exam period.

Rush hour appeared to correlate with Dartmouth High School’s schedule, with peak hours being 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. when just under 700 vehicles traveled along Tucker Road and between 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. when nearly 550 vehicles were on the road.

According to Dirk, the Residences at Hawthorne would increase traffic by no more than six cars during rush hour near the Tucker Road and Allen Street intersection, which would increase wait time by an estimated 35.3 seconds.

Weekend traffic was also not studied, which was an additional concern for Raczka because of the quantity of sport practices and games occurring near the site of the proposed project over the weekend.

“All the soccer fields, basketball [courts], baseball fields — everything is in this section of town, and especially on weekends, everything gets played over here,” Raczka said.

The study also found that it would be safe to exit the proposed property, which is determined by how far a driver would be able to see to their left and right. At the proposed site, the recommended minimum distance would be 305 feet, though the study measured the sight distance to be greater than 500 feet.

Several residents felt that Tucker Road is already facing unresolved traffic issues, with one resident who lives on Idlewood Avenue stating that until current issues are resolved a new development shouldn’t be constructed.

“There’s no way that that is a feasible, livable entrance, because it’s not livable right now on Tucker Road,” she said. “We need to see some planning for Tucker Road.”