April Town Center News
Posted by Jeffrey R. Parenti, P.E. on April 15, 2010
With the election in the books, we can now fully concentrate on the business of improving the town. Here’s what’s been happening over the last few weeks in the Town Center.
Welcome, Fit Results
Fit Results has opened in Billerica Center
First the good news. As reported by billerica.org, a new fitness center has opened in the “red barn” at 475 Boston Road, just south of Tower Farm Road. This is a perfect example of how an old, attractive building can be reconditioned for a modern use. (Another is the mill development in North Billerica near the train station). The place looks great. This is the first new business to open in the Center since the dollar store. Before that was the tire store, and before that, well…
Hopefully Fit Results will succeed and stay in this location for a long time.
Another Parking Lot
According to Town Planner Peter Kennedy, Dunkin Donuts bought the parcel just to its south, razed the house that was on it, and will build an overflow parking lot to support their fast food/drive-thru operation. A small business — a used car dealer — was previously operating in that space. Since last year, the Center has now lost three small businesses (Coffee Emporium and Lincoln Liquors are the others).
We all love our coffee, but Dunkin Donuts — despite its tiny footprint — creates a big traffic headache in the morning. The drive-thru operation often spills out onto Boston Road, blocking southbound flow. Good luck trying to turn left into the parking lot. More parking won’t help this problem. It may very well make it worse.
And the last thing we need is more parking in a neighborhood that is nearly entirely covered in asphalt. How dreadfully ugly. There are two bungalows left now between DD and the Rite Aid. I wonder how long those homeowners will hold out until they sell to a developer with plans to build another as-of-right, high-traffic fast food joint.
By the way, more impervious area is terrible news for flood impact. More on this later.
Billerica Mall Boots Lions Carnival
For 19 years, the Billerica Lions Club carnival borrowed the mostly empty Mall parking lot for its summer carnival. It has raised thousands for the Club’s scholarship fund.
But not this year, according to the Lowell Sun. The report says that each tenant must approve use of the parking lot, and this time KMart said no. Apparently the loss of parking hurt business last year.
I find this story puzzling in two ways. First, the Mall has around 1,200 parking spaces, which is maybe ten times more than it needs, especially now that the place in half empty. Even with the carnival there, plenty of parking remains. I picked up my dry cleaning at Ma’s last year at carnival time and found a space without a problem.
Speaking of Ma’s, here is what Ma’s owner/selectman Bob Accomando told the Sun: “It hurt their business because there are fewer parking spaces available. I’m sad to see it go, but in these dire times, to put burden on a business is asking a lot.” He estimated that 40-45 percent of the lot is taken up by carnival equipment and parking. (I think he should check his math — the parking lot is 12 acres.) Putting a burden on the Lions Club is asking a lot, too, and now they have to come up with some other way to raise the money.
Oh, and now kids have one less fun thing to do in Grumpytown this year.
Second, why would embattled New York City Mall owner RD Management divulge to the press that it was KMart that said no to the carnival? This news hurts their tenant, which could face a boycott. All RD Management had to say was something vague, like, “One of the Mall’s tenants was not comfortable with the carnival being there this year and we regret ending our long relationship with the Lions and we would like to offer this donation of $10 and blah blah blah.”
But for some reason, they instead decided to throw KMart under the bus. So I ask you, if you were KMart/Sears, would you re-up when your lease ends after your own landlord treats you this way? Not to mention all the damage you’ve taken to your inventory due to the gaping holes in the roof.
The point is, if you think Billerica Mall is a ghost town now, imagine the chasm that will be left after KMart goes away. This will be a major problem, because that store provides a lot of things people need.
Boston Road Improvement Project
Did you know there are design plans completed for a major improvement of Boston Road between the Mall and the bowling alley? There is. And did you know these plans are eight years old?
It’s true. Saw them with my own eyes. Town Engineer Kelley Conway showed the plan set, dated 2002, to me a few weeks ago. Actually there are two projects. The set I saw was for the roads around the Common, which as we all know need a lot of help because the traffic flow is so confusing. Another project will encompass the 4-lane section of Boston Road between the Common and the bowling alley.
So why hasn’t an 8-year-old plan be constructed? Good question. Ask your favorite member of the BOS, which apparently has forgotten all about it.
The good news here is that the plan is not final, and the design development process will restart, according to DPW Director Abdul Alkhatib. If you are interested is what happens to Boston Road, there will be public meetings and your input will be welcomed. However the direction this project takes will depend mostly on what sort of leadership will be provided by the BOS. The Board must authorize many steps since we will be spending state money. If they continue to sit on it, the project will go nowhere and might even die entirely if we citizens don’t stay on top of it.
If enough of you are interested, I will do a full story on this. (You may recall I am a professional traffic engineer, and I design projects just like this, so plan on being very involved myself.)
The Nina, the Pinta…
Does anyone else find it strange that a big, expensive Mayflower moving truck has been sitting idle in the Mall parking lot near Boston for the past month? Is one of the tenants getting ready to move out at a moment’s notice?
