Planning Board meeting over proposed mega store on Spruce Street
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Planning Board expects to hear more testimony from Wal-Mart on its proposed store on Spruce Street when the board meets Monday night.
The 7:30 p.m. meeting — the fourth in a series of public hearings on the application since March — will be held in the Lower Level Conference Room at the Municipal Building.
Municipal Engineer Christopher Budzinski, who also is the board secretary, said the board hopes to vote on the application Monday night, “but it is not certain.”
Wal-Mart, based in Arkansas, wants to build a 143,233-square-foot store — including an 8,654-square-foot garden center — on a 23.5-acre lot at 1060-1100 Spruce St. Two used-car dealerships would be torn down to make way for the new building.
Wal-Mart is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval for the new store. There would be parking for 725 cars, of which 67 spaces would be banked, or not constructed unless necessary.
Two driveways are proposed for access to the site. The northerly driveway would be an extension of Arctic Parkway, and would allow cars to enter and leave the site. The southerly driveway would be a right-turn-in-only driveway for cars entering the site.
Much of the testimony has focused on traffic issues. The applicant’s traffic experts claim that increased traffic generated by the store won’t be a problem, but neither Planning Board members nor residents are convinced of that position.
Some residents have expressed concern that more traffic would make it difficult for them to leave their homes in the Tiffany Woods development off Spruce Street, while others are concerned about the overall increase in traffic that could be generated by a new store.
At an earlier meeting in May, the applicant’s traffic engineer recommended painting new stripes on Spruce Street westbound — toward Ewing Township — to create a right-turn lane into the Wal-Mart store, a through lane for motorists who want to go past the store, and a left-turn lane for motorists who want to turn left onto Arctic Parkway.
On eastbound Spruce Street, there would be a left-turn lane for motorists who want to turn into the Wal-Mart site and a through lane for motorists who want to continue traveling on Spruce Street, said traffic engineer Raymond DiPasquale, who represents the applicant.
Arctic Parkway would be restriped for a left-turn lane onto Spruce Street westbound, and a through lane into the Wal-Mart driveway directly opposite Arctic Parkway. A right-turn lane would be provided on Arctic Parkway for motorists who want to turn onto Spruce Street eastbound.
Farther east on Spruce Street and away from the Wal-Mart property, the applicant’s traffic engineer suggested restriping the roadway. Spruce Street now is striped for two lanes in each direction, but the traffic engineer suggested restriping it so there is one lane in each direction, and a center lane for left turns. This would make it easier for motorists to get onto Spruce Street, because they would not have to watch for traffic traveling in two lanes in the same direction.
Planning Board traffic engineer James Kochenour said there would be more traffic, but with the improvements in place proposed by Wal-Mart, traffic conditions would not be any worse than they are now.

