Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
Minutes_RTE 138 082819 final
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MINUTES CANTON ROUTE 138 CORRIDOR STUDY WORKING GROUP Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 1:30PM CANTON TOWN HALL Salah Meeting Room 801 Washington Street Canton MA 02021 Present: • Charlie Aspinwall, Town Administrator • Christine Madore, MassDevelopment • Emilio Mauro, Master Plan Steering Committee, Finance Committee, Economic Development Committee • Ed Walsh, Building Commissioner • John Ciardi, FIS/ Canton Association of Business and Industry (CABI) • Laura Smead, Town Planner • Eric Halvorsen, RKG Associates • Ryan Kirkofe, RKG Associates • Greg Pando, Zoning Board of Appeals Not Present: • Chris Connolly, Board of Selectmen • Sonja Grauds, Master Plan Steering Committee • Patricia McDermott, Planning Board, Walk Bike and Hike Committee, Sustainability Committee • David McCarthy, Planning Board and Master Plan Steering Committee Minutes 1. Introductions 2. Accept minutes from June meeting 3. Review public feedback to date • Increase desirability of the corridor by improving the mix of retail, restaurant, entertainment, and housing choices. • Reduce congestion by improving general traffic flow, curb cut management, and signalization. • Increase transportation access by adding sidewalks, crosswalks, and/or bike facilities. • Reduce congestion by widening Route 138 to four lanes. • Improve corridor aesthetics through landscape treatments, building and façade improvements, and the screening of storage areas. • Improve turning movements and safety by constructing a center turn lane on Route 138. • Increase transportation options and connectivity by extending public transit to the corridor. • Vehicle congestion during morning and evening rush hours is a deterrent. • Variety of retail offerings and restaurants are less than ideal. • Lack of sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike facilities make it challenging to get around.
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• Corridor has an inconsistent look and feel and is less aesthetically-pleasing than other sections of Route 138. • Lack of public transportation limits travel options and connections from MBTA Commuter Rail. • As to what and where, people generally wanted limited and strategically placed residential – around only locations where it exists already. • Otherwise, for the corridor to continue to be dominated by commercial – with more restaurants, parks/open space, and retail worked in, as well as entertainment/fitness uses. • Transportation issues and improvements were also widely talked about as needed. • Desire for restaurants, fitness, and retail are backed by current spending patterns in the Corridor. 4. Discuss vision statement and refinements “The Route 138 Corridor in Canton will continue to thrive and grow as a significant contributor to the town’s commercial and industrial tax base, serving as a regional employment hub for thousands of workers. Over time, strategic and targeted development will help diversify the mix of retail, restaurant, and housing choices to create mixed-use, multi-modal nodes of activity. Transportation improvements that respond to the regional nature of the corridor and local mobility needs will accompany changes in the built environment. In the future, this stretch of Route 138 will serve a wide range of commercial and industrial users, integrate housing that allows employees to live closer to jobs, and have a transportation network that provides a safe and efficient means of travel regardless of how one chooses to get around.” • Working group wanted to see the vision statement shortened to one or two sentences, maybe by refining the first couple of sentences • Group wanted transportation brought up sooner in the vision statement • Group wanted more language reflection or mirroring of the Master Plan Guiding Principle for the are • Refinement of the phrase “multi-modal nodes of activity” as it was confusing • Laura Smead (Town Planner) stated that the Master Plan Steering Committee had discussed the proposed vision statement and found it not to be in conflict with the Guiding Principle/vision for the Rte 138 focus area in the Master Plan. The MPSC recommended tweaking the Master Plan Guiding Principle to explicitly list housing. 5. Review and discuss fiscal impact modeling • Detailed presentation by Ryan Kirkofe on fiscal impact modeling background and methodology • High level takeaways include single-family housing is the highest fiscally positive residential use per unit, but given the lower density putting more units on an acre gives
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the town a higher fiscally positive impact overall, making condos the most fiscally appealing option (residential use) • Retail is the most fiscally positive use per square use (in commercial category) but given the size and scale of Industrial, R&D, parcels etc. that use brings in more overall and has the potential to bring in the most • Commercial is much more fiscally positive than residential, but all uses are estimated to be fiscally positive. 6. Next Steps a. RKG will complete fiscal impact analysis and begin work on recommendations b. Recommendations will be reviewed with the committee on September 25th c. Next Public Meeting , probably October 23d at the Bank of Canton (7pm) to be confirmed d. Public Meeting #2 goals include presenting feedback from the last meeting and online survey, sharing recommendations, and creating a shared understanding of fiscal impacts development may have; Also gather feedback on draft recommendations e. Next committee meeting after that will be November 12th or 14th (to be confirmed)