Consultant: Traffic Operating Well Since Whole Foods Opening
A month after the opening of Whole Foods, traffic near the Chappaqua Crossing complex has flowed well, the New Castle Town Board was told last week by its traffic consultant and police officer monitoring the site.
Lou Luglio, the consultant retained by the town, informed officials at the Jan. 8 board meeting that while tweaks are being made to the timing of turn signals at Route 117 and Roaring Brook Road and the new light outside the Horace Greeley High School entrance, the roads and intersections near the campus have been operationally sound.
“On the whole, though, from an operational standpoint, we think everything is running pretty smoothly without any incident, without any major traffic congestion at any one of these intersections,” Luglio said. “So we’re happy with the MPT (Maintenance and Protection of Traffic) plan and with the new traffic signal timing, and so with these recommendations, that’s the only thing we would really talk about or recommend.”
It had been anticipated by Town Board and Planning Board members that in the supermarket first weeks the roads and intersections would be plagued by congestion and backup, particularly over the holidays and when school opened. Town officials required Summit/Greenfield, the developer of Chappaqua Crossing, to pay for town police officers to direct traffic at three key intersections from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends through Jan. 20.
However, New Castle police Lt. James Carroll said that traffic has flowed well enough that starting Monday, Jan. 14, he had reassigned the third officer who was stationed near the campus entrance closest the Metro-North grade crossing and Saw Mill Parkway.
“Overall, the MPT plan is performing well and safely,” Carroll said.
Traffic flow has been satisfactory despite higher than projected traffic counts at the intersections during peak hours, according to Luglio. Counts were taken on Dec. 13, two days before Whole Foods opened, and on Dec. 18.
A joint Town Board and Planning Board meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday night for Luglio to make a presentation before both boards and for its members to ask questions.
Last Friday, the attorney for Summit/Greenfield, Mark Weingarten, sent a letter to the town requesting that the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) that allowed Whole Foods and Chase Bank to open be amended to allow the 40,000-square-foot Life Time Fitness and Pet Valu, which will be located next to the bank, to begin operations on Feb. 1.
The letter also requested that officials permit another 17,000 square feet of retail when those businesses are ready to open under the amended TCO. That would bring the amount of operating retail up to 100,000 square feet, 20,000 square feet less than what was approved by the town.
A public hearing is expected to be scheduled regarding the amended TCO in the next two weeks to enable Life Time Fitness and Pet Valu to open by their target date.
Luglio recommended that three left-turn signals outside the site be extended to allow for improved traffic flow. Changes that were made at the two intersections include increasing the left-turn signal out of the high school exit onto Roaring Brook Road from 10 to 15 seconds; increasing the left-turn arrow from Roaring Brook Road by six seconds; and increasing the left-turn light from northbound Route 117 onto Roaring Brook Road by four seconds.
That would give drivers at Roaring Brook and Route 117 10 seconds to make left turns, he said.
Another recommendation is to allow right turns on red out of the high school onto Roaring Brook Road if the green light for drivers coming out of the Whole Foods exit directly opposite the school entrance is skipped. Luglio explained that the light is a “smart signal,” which doesn’t change to green for the exiting Whole Foods traffic if there are no cars waiting.
The electrical contractor responsible to adjust the signal timing was to be contacted before the end of last week, Luglio said. Furthermore, traffic counts will continue along Route 117 and Roaring Brook Road through Feb. 15, he said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/