SOUTHEAST – A proposal to construct a massive retail complex consisting of four buildings along with 130 parking spaces at the intersection of Route 6 and Starr Ridge Road in the Town of Southeast has raised the ire of residents living in the area.
Rraci Associates’ plans include three one-story retail buildings, one of which would be home to a drive-thru bank along with a two-story structure.
Those living along Starr Ridge Road and its surrounding neighborhood told members of the Southeast Planning Board at a hearing, traffic was already a problem due to area development and lack of proper infrastructure.
Insite Engineering, which has designed the project, advised Southeast Planning Board members that the project had been reviewed by the State Department of Transportation and plans call for widening the intersection by constructing two lanes from Starr Ridge onto Route 6 improving “safety and movement.”
Planning Board Chairman Tom LaPerch reminded the architects that traffic posed the greatest stumbling block for both residents of the area in addition to the board.
Several residents addressed the hearing including State Supreme Court Justice Victor Grossman who charged that a traffic study conducted by a White Plains engineering firm was flawed since he counted nearly 1,000 vehicles traversing a 1.5-mile stretch of Starr Ridge Road heading south in the morning and some 1,200 vehicles driving along the same section of the road traveling northbound in the evening.
Grossman also requested that the board remove the drive-thru bank from the proposal, which he forecast would further increase traffic.
Other residents complained that traffic was already too excessive due to the recently opened Dunkin Donuts located just south of the intersection.
LaPerch announced that the hearing would remain open for public comments with additional discussion planned on February 23.
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