A proposed development that would bring a grocery store and liquor outlet to Penacook should provide safe pedestrian and bike access, and incorporate green spaces rather than expansive parking lots, city officials and residents agreed during a public hearing Wednesday night.
The highly-anticipated project off Exit 17 of Interstate 93 coined Concord Crossing has been the topic of discussion for roughly a decade, but with commitments from Market Basket and the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, it is inching closer to reality.
During a design review Wednesday before the Concord Planning Board, the proposed shopping center – which could include a restaurant, medical offices and other retail space – received strong support. City officials and developers must now iron out solutions to inevitable traffic problems at the intersection of Whitney and Hoit roads, and at the I-93 on-ramp that takes motorists south.
The property owners and project designers requested a public hearing to obtain feedback from the board and residents about what features of the current design need further thought or revision.
“The primary purpose of tonight’s meeting is to elicit any comments so when we make our subsequent site plan application in the coming months, it’s an efficient process and we’re ahead of the curve so to speak,” said Jason Hill, a project manager with the land planning firm TFMoran.
Because the land off Whitney Road in Penacook is near Boscawen and Canterbury, the proposed development has regional impact, and therefore will be reviewed by planners in those neighboring towns, as well as by the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission.
Canterbury Planning Board Chairman Tyson Miller provided a favorable review of the proposed design Wednesday night but, like most participants, highlighted the need for safe pedestrian access in and around the shopping center, from the Hannah Duston Drive bridge and from Old Boyce Road in Canterbury. Old Boyce Road is directly across the street from the previously built Dunkin’ coffee shop and Mobil gas station on Whitney Road.
“I can see people wanting to walk across one way or another to get to this wonderful facility that you do plan,” Miller said. “So I just wanted to reiterate that I don’t see any entranceways for walkers or bicyclists at this point in time.”
Additionally, Miller said, the development project should not move forward without improvements to the intersection of Whitney, Old Boyce and Hoit roads, just before the I-93 South ramp. Traffic improvements should be done before and not after the shopping center is erected, he said.
“It’s almost impossible to turn off of Old Boyce Road to turn (left) toward the interstate in traffic times, so it would really make it impossible without something in place,” Miller said.
The latest idea is to turn the intersection into a multi-lane roundabout, which would be cheaper and possibly take up less room than expanding a signaled intersection. Concord City Council approved last month spending up to $456,000 for its design and engineering.
Although Penacook residents touted the project and its relatively close proximity to the village, they said ensuring safe and easy access by foot from multiple directions is critical to its success.
Carisa Corrow wrote in an e-mail to the board that she hopes planners take into account the residents who don’t have access to private transportation and will need to bike to the shopping center or take a city bus, if that location is ultimately added to an existing route.
Another Concord resident said there may be an opportunity to link the Sewalls Falls Bridge neighborhood to the new site to help reach people on the outskirts of Penacook village and those in the Capital City.
Laurie and David Rauseo, owners of a 42-acre parcel where the mixed use project is envisioned, said they were thankful for the opportunity to sit before the board Wednesday to obtain feedback before submitting a site plan in the coming months. Developers said the conception phase met many hurdles, but that open lines of communication among city officials, engineers and interested business owners have ensured progress.
“I think everybody is looking forward to this,” Concord Planning Board Chairman Richard Woodfin said. “Now we just got to get … the traffic issues, or the traffic circle, or the 93 issues, or whatever they might be, behind us.”