Although the Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) last week unanimously approved Newtown Hook & Ladder’s proposal to build a firehouse at 12 Church Hill Road without a traffic study having been performed, the Police Commission this week, in its role as the local traffic authority, told the volunteer fire company that it wants a traffic study done before it would review and make a recommendation on the traffic aspects of the firehouse project.

The BZC on December 10 approved the fire company’s plans to construct an approximately 16,000-square-foot firehouse on a 3.16-acre site on the south side of Church Hill Road, across that street from Wendover Road. Firefighters would have access to the site via a new driveway, which would fork off of Trinity Episcopal Church’s existing rear driveway.

BZC members said that a formal traffic study was not needed for the firehouse project.

The fire company had attempted to have the Police Commission place the traffic issue on its December 2 meeting agenda, but was unsuccessful, resulting in fire company members attending a December 16 Police Commission session on the firehouse traffic topic.

Rob Manna of Hook & Ladder provided a site plan for the firehouse project to Police Commission members for their review.

The Church Hill Road site is a better location for a firehouse than a Sugar Street site that had been proposed for a new Hook & Ladder firehouse several years ago, Mr Manna told commission members.

Mr Manna described Hook & Ladder’s fire district boundaries to commission members, noting that the Church Hill Road site is near the geographical center of that fire district. The town has five volunteer fire companies, each of which has its own fire district.

Asked about the need for a traffic study by commission members, Mr Manna responded, “We did not do a traffic study.”

George Benson, town director of planning, told commission members, “We reviewed [the project] at land use [agency], and felt it did not need a traffic study.” There would be little traffic generated by a firehouse and there would be a relatively small parking lot there, he said.

A land use such as a firehouse is difficult subject matter for a traffic study due to its traffic flow, which is based on unpredictable emergency calls, he said.

Mr Manna said that Church Hill Road carries less traffic volume than does Main Street.

Hook & Ladder uses a town-owned firehouse at 45 Main Street that has been deemed structurally unsound, prompting the fire company’s long-running pursuit for new quarters which it would own. The town has agreed to provide a $1.5 million subsidy to the fire company toward the as-yet unclear overall cost of the firehouse project.

Mr Manna said, “I think this [Church Hill Road site] will be an improvement,” when compared to the fire company’s existing location behind Edmond Town Hall.

Commission Questions

Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico asked, “Why would you not do a traffic study…a professional look at this [Church Hill Road] location?”

The flagpole intersection on Main Street, where Church Hill Road, West Street and Main Street meet, poses a “monstrous problem” for traffic flow in that area, he said.

A traffic study would give Police Commission members professional advice on the advisability siting a firehouse at 12 Church Hill Road, he said.

Mr Manna responded that town land use agency informed them that a traffic study was not needed, so no traffic study was done.

“[The flagpole intersection] is a very difficult situation,” Mr Mangiafico said.

“We felt it (traffic study) was an unnecessary expense,” Mr Benson explained.

Mr Mangiafico asked why the fire company does not pursue building a firehouse at Fairfield Hills, where that town owns much acreage, thus making it unnecessary for the fire company to buy land for a firehouse site.

The fire company has an option to buy the 12 Church Hill Road site from Trinity Episcopal Church for $500,000.

Mr Manna responded that positioning a firehouse at Fairfield Hills would place the structure in a “corner” of its fire district, not a central location. Such a positioning would increase the fire company’s response times to certain calls, he said.

Mr Mangiafico pointed out that traffic congestion and vehicular backups occur on Church Hill Road.

Mr Benson said that wherever a firehouse would be built in the town center, there would be traffic congestion issues.

“I can’t think of a worse traffic problem” than the one that occurs at the flagpole intersection, Mr Mangiafico said. “I would like to see a traffic study,” he stressed.

Police Commission member Andrew Sachs said that the 12 Church Hill Road location for a firehouse would be no worse in terms of traffic than the existing 45 Main Street location, when considering both sites’ proximity to the flagpole intersection.

A basic difference in having a firehouse at 12 Church Hill Road would be that when leaving on an emergency call, fire tucks would approach the flagpole intersection on westbound Church Hill Road instead of on southbound Main Street, Mr Manna said.

Mr Sachs said a traffic study is not necessary.

“It’s very challenging, no matter where you put the [firehouse],” said commission member Joel Faxon. In the past, the Police Commission has reviewed traffic studies for development projects, he said.

Commission member Virgil Procaccini, Jr, said that 12 Church Hill Road seems like a difficult location for a firehouse in terms of traffic, adding that he favors having atraffic study done.

Mr Faxon said that while he would like to have a traffic study done, he does not know of a possible firehouse location which would be significantly better or significantly worse than 12 Church Hill Road in terms of traffic.

Mr Mangiafico said, “I would not put this on Church Hill Road.” Fairfield Hills is a better place for a firehouse, he stressed.

“I want to see a formal traffic study made … I can’t think of a worse place for this [firehouse] than Church Hill Road,” Mangiafico said.

Votes Among Commission Members

Police Commission members then took votes on the traffic issue.

Initially, Mr Faxon made a motion to endorse the firehouse project, although no traffic study has been done. That motion, however, failed in a tie vote, with Mr Faxon and Mr Sachs voting in favor, and Mr Mangiafico and Mr Procaccini opposed.

Mr Procaccini then made a motion to delay any Police Commission action on the traffic aspects of the project until a formal traffic study is performed and reviewed by the commission.

Voting in favor were Mr Procaccini, Mr Mangiafico, and Mr Faxon, with Mr Sachs opposed.

Police Commission member Brian Budd did not attend the December 16 session.

Mr Mangiafico told Mr Manna, Mr Benson, and Hook & Ladder President Rick Camejo that “We will gladly rehear this, when a traffic study is provided.”

Mr Manna responded that a traffic study would amount to “a waste of money.”

Mr Benson said on December 17 that the BZC members decided on December 10 that they had enough traffic information about the firehouse project to approve it.

“There is no value to a traffic report at that particular location,” Mr Benson said.

Mr Benson said he does not believe that the Police Commission’s lack of action on the traffic aspects of the firehouse project will slow down progress on getting the firehouse built.

The BZC has jurisdiction over the application and the BZC refers the traffic aspects of it to the Police Commission for a recommendation, he noted.

“I wish we had the [Police Commission] endorsement…But we have to move forward with this,” he said of the firehouse project.

Mr Benson noted that the BZC did not make its firehouse approval contingent upon a positive recommendation from the Police Commission.