HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment from WEBAThe Developer & The Neighborhood
By The Wequaquet Estates Neighbors
Our quiet low traffic volume old lake-side neighborhood consisting of Minor B Roads 16ft-
19.5ft, (not intended for through traffic), is facing a huge unnecessary change in becoming a cut-
through effectively making us a collector roadway
between Great Marsh Road and Phinney’s Lane to
points north. Our association has a petition with 73
signatures against the proposed 4way intersection
located at one entrance to our neighborhood at Juniper
Road and Great Marsh Road. This includes a 2006
Gopen fellow who received her fellowship from the
Eunice Kennedy Shriver center to promote inclusion of people with disabilities. Her fellowship
was for inclusive recreation. Her disabled adult children will be negatively impacted by a
decision that a local developer has made. In their 40B proposal the developer has
Moving the intersection will
not impact 40B density or
viability but will improve
vehicle and pedestrian
safety and inclusion
Wequaquet Estates
Neighborhood team
showing Councilman
Keane, our counter
proposal with a safer
location for “The Cove”
egress reducing the 4way
vehicle and pedestrian
safety conflict point
concerns by 40%,
improving site lines and
preventing Juniper Road
from becoming a cut-
through and de facto
collector roadway.
proposed a 4-way intersection with his new subdivision and our neighborhood at Juniper Road,
which will create a cut-through from Great Marsh Road to Phinney’s Lane making us effectively
a collector roadway. We are a neighborhood with very narrow Minor B roads with no sidewalks
which means the many walkers, disabled folks, kids on bikes, moms pushing strollers have to
share the roadways with vehicles. Our roads
cannot handle cross traffic. We have been
working through the process for months and
even hosted the developer at our home for a
discussion. It became clear that he can move the
access road without any negative impacts to the
density of his 40b project but he will not move
it, in part due to his artistic process. There are
documented vehicle and pedestrian safety
concerns with this decision. We are NOT taking
a position against this affordable housing project
as we agree that starter homes are necessary for our Cape residents and economy. We have a
counter proposal that the developer move the intersection 150ft-220ft easterly on Great Marsh
Road, which is the required distance. This will not reduce the density or jeopardize his project.
The developer spoke with his engineer who gave him a price of $15-20K to move the
intersection and a 3-month timeline. Moving the intersection would negate the need for a peer
traffic review saving $10K netting an increased cost of $5,000-$10,000 for the developer. We
have offered to raise that money within our association to keep our neighborhood quiet and safe
and to protect our disabled neighbors, an idea he rejected, stating the 4-way will be “safe
enough.” We can provide documents identifying safety advantages of moving the 4-way
intersection with 32 conflict points and creating two safer 3-way intersections with 9 conflict
points each (totaling 18 conflict points on busy Great Marsh Road) Meaning our proposal is
40% safer. Moving the intersection will also eliminate the cut-through traffic that will turn our
road into a de facto collector road, satisfy 73+ concerned neighbors, allow safe and inclusive
recreation for our disabled neighbors, in addition, their site lines fail nearly all Barnstable
regulations 801-13, a significant safety concern that should not be overlooked.
Councilman Thomas Keane was
kind enough to make a site visit
to our neighborhood to hear the
traffic and safety concerns of one
of our disabled neighbors
agreeing that it was “a tough
road for a cut through”
Matt Eddy from Baxter Nye Engineering said on the record (April 8) that “I will look into
moving the intersection if Mike (The developer) asks me to.” Randy from VHB Traffic
consultants said on the record “The only reason I would move the intersection is if there was
enough room” (to move it). Matt Eddy said “there is more than the required 150’ to move the
intersection.” Therefore the decision to NOT move the intersection and risk vehicle and
pedestrian safety concerns on Great Marsh Road with 40% more conflict points, site distance
failures, and turning our substandard WEBA neighborhood roadways into a cut-through and de
facto collector road etc., rest squarely on the developer’s shoulders.
As stakeholders the WEBA board has authorized our team to actively seek a traffic engineer to
review and explain our safety concerns to the ZBA. We further believe that the zoning board has
an obligation to mitigate safety risks without jeopardizing this 40B project and therefore
recommend approving the application with the conditions of moving the intersection and not
allowing construction vehicles access to our neighborhood.
To conclude: the developer CAN move the intersection with minimal costs and time that will
NOT jeopardize the 40B. That move will improve vehicle safety and overall pedestrian safety
and inclusion, while expanding home ownership to 36 new families.
Walking the neighborhood with the Councilman to voice concerns and show
the safety risks at the proposed 4-way intersection into our neighborhood