Traffic Impacts and Analysis

Addressing the traffic impacts of the Trade Center Park (TCP) project has always been a major concern in this development. Without safe and convenient access, the public could be at risk, and no commercial development will ever fully succeed. The traffic analysis for this project has a long history of study and review in arriving at the current level of recommendations on significant roadway improvements.

Initial traffic analyses were done in 2001 by Conley Associates in conjunction with the project's MEPA submission. The original study projected traffic impacts based on all office use, and analysis was done at intersections determined at MEPA "scoping sessions." Analyses were performed and roadway modifications were proposed in close concert with MassHighway engineering review.

A final set of recommendations regarding the scope of required improvements was outlined in a Section 61 Finding. This document, issued on January 5, 2005, is MassHighway's authorization notice to proceed with final engineering on an approved program of roadway modifications (attached.)

Review or Print Mass. Highway, Section 61 Finding.

The Boston engineering firm of Edwards and Kelcey, Inc. (E & K) was then commissioned to perform the engineering work involved in developing and documenting the final configuration at the Main / Elm / Alfred and Sylvan (MEAS) intersection. Improvements at this location were determined by MassHighway to be key in addressing traffic impacts related to TCP's proposed development.

A full package of information was first submitted to the Woburn Planning Board in August 2006 in conjunction with Trade Center Park's Site Plan Review submission, including all traffic studies and plans for the MEAS modifications. Subsequent city review, through the Planning Director and City Engineer's office, resulted in a request that the traffic study be updated to include five-year build and no-build projections through 2011, along with revisiting traffic counts at identified key intersections to verify current information.

Also, in August 2006, TCP was selected as the temporary relocation site of Middlesex Superior Court. TCP was requested to review the traffic implications associated with the inclusion of the courthouse in the overall project proposal. Significant new analysis was made to accurately project the anticipated courthouse traffic and its impact on the intersection during peak hours.

Following that analysis, which was urged by the Woburn Planning Board, the intersection of Winn Street and Beacon Street in Burlington was identified as an additional area where the traffic engineers felt substantial off-site work was in order. This Burlington work, and also further modifications in Woburn to all four quadrants of the Route 38 rotary, were submitted to the Woburn Planning Board on December 7, 2006.

Finally, the Planning Board requested that the Woburn's traffic consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc (VHB), perform a full peer review of the overall traffic analysis to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations that would fully address all TCP project impacts. The VHB review culminated in the production of a written report dated November 14, 2006, presented to the Planning Board at the November 14 Public Hearing. In summary, the attached report concludes that the E & K analysis has satisfactorily addressed the impacts and delineates a scope of roadway modifications recommended in conjunction with this project.

Click here to Review or Print report from VHB.