Traffic expert urges Morristown zoning board to nix daycare center

Traffic consultant Hal Simoff testifies before the Morristown zoning board. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Traffic consultant Hal Simoff testifies before the Morristown zoning board. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Traffic consultant Hal Simoff testifies before the Morristown zoning board. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Traffic consultant Hal Simoff testifies before the Morristown zoning board. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

 

The battle of traffic experts shifted to the defending team on Thursday, when a witness hired by residents urged the Morristown zoning board to reject a daycare center proposed for a busy Madison Avenue intersection.

“It’s under-parked. The access is restrained. You’re putting too much on a small piece of property. It’s not optimal. In fact, I think it’s detrimental… It’s a difficult site. I would recommend the board not consider a variance,” said Hal Simoff, an engineer and planner.

His findings contradicted prior testimony by Charles Olivo, a traffic consultant, and other witnesses for the applicant who contended that the proposed Learning Experience daycare center would be less disruptive to neighbors and motorists than a housing development would be.

The Learning Experience seeks to build a 10,000-square-foot center for 175 preschoolers and 24 staffers on a wooded acre at the corner of Madison and Normandy Parkway.  The project requires a use variance, among other variances, because the property is zoned for residential development, not commercial uses.

Daycare centers are deemed inherently beneficial by the state, however, and so residents are attempting to convince the board that the cons outweigh the pros.

Simoff predicted peak morning and afternoon traffic to the center, for drop-off and pickup of children, will exceed Olivo’s estimates.

According to Simoff, 65 customers will drive to the center during its busiest morning hour, and 57 will come at the evening’s peak.   By comparison, he said, if six houses were built on the site, they would generate just 36 car movements over 24 hours.

Simoff also said side streets will experience extra traffic from customers attempting to reach the center, which cannot be accessed via left turns from Madison Avenue.

“This is not suited for this type of development, from a traffic point of view,” he said.

Simoff further recommended that no approvals should be granted until the state completes a widening of the Madison/Normandy intersection. And he said some 1,200 feet of trees should be cleared along Normandy for safe visibility by motorists.

Additionally, Simoff challenged the on-site parking. The developer had been planning for 31 spaces, and increased that number to 35 on Thursday.  But a project of this size will need 40- to 48 spaces, Simoff said.

There were titters in the audience when the developer’s lawyer, John Horan, cross-examining Simoff, pressed the witness about where he got his parking calculations.

“Your website,” answered Simoff, citing a Learning Experience site.

Simoff also cited standards of the Institute of Professional Transportation Engineers, an organization that Olivo had referenced.  That body suggests 48 spaces would be needed for a project of this scope, according to Simoff.

At one point, the developer, Sam Samman, attempted to testify “as a resident.”  The board asked him to sit down.

Board members Michael Leavy, Michael Schmidt and Larry Cohen were absent from Thursday’s session.

They’ll get another chance on March 11, 2015, when everyone is scheduled to return for a ninth hearing on this application.  The board anticipates hearing from a planner hired by residents, and final comments from the public.

Last year, the board rejected another proposed daycare center, largely because of traffic concerns.

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