Original article from The Springfield Republican

Wal-Mart opponents get no satisfaction

Thursday, December 08, 2005
By DIANE LEDERMAN
dlederman@repub.com

HADLEY - People with "No Way Wal-Mart" placards again asked the Planning Board this week to keep the proposed Wal-Mart Super Center out of town. They were again told the board could only deal with the zoning aspect of the project.

About 150 people attended the third in a series of hearings Tuesday night on the proposed store. Many were from surrounding communities.

A hearing last month was shut down after 20 minutes because of overcrowding.

The Pyramid Co., which owns the Hampshire Mall, is planning a 212,000-square-foot Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Wal-Mart currently has a store in the adjacent Mountain Farms Mall. The supercenter would be open 24 hours a day seven days a week, a company spokesman said.

Stephen J. Savaria of Fuss & O'Neill Inc., a consulting engineering company in West Springfield, addressed traffic and pollution concerns. His comments were punctuated several times by hisses and catcalls from those waving anti-Wal-Mart placards.

To concerns that the store will increase traffic, Savaria said that "our best indication is that won't happen because that hasn't happened in the past." He said the traffic increase has been about 1 percent a year and has paralleled the town's growth.

But later, resident Adam Trott said "Wal-Mart wouldn't be putting another store there if it didn't want traffic."

The Planning Board, meanwhile, will have an outside consultant review the traffic numbers for the project as well as a proposed Lowe's. Savaria is doing both projects.

The board also told Savaria that the proposed safety plan for the Norwottuck Rail Trail crossing on South Maple Street is not good enough. Savaria said the company was considering a couple of options including a wireless solar power signal or alerts for oncoming motorists about the crossing.

Planning Board Chairman James J. Maksimoski said "the only solution is to dig a tunnel or a bridge," a request that drew applause from the audience.

Terry Blunt, from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees the Norwottuck Rail Trail, said that the bike path "is one of the most heavily used recreational facilities in the region. It's also used as a commuter trail. So, in effect, it's a transportation corridor and we're concerned about this."

Maksimoski told project opponents that "the issue is zoning; the only issue is site plan approval. We can do nothing about your concerns." The hearing is to resume Jan. 17.

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