Walmart engineers address traffic concerns ahead of KYTC feedback on changes to Mayde Road

The new Walmart to be built on Mayde Road will have three entrances, as originally planned, but now will feature longer traffic light queue lanes for the main entrance, according to an engineer involved in the project.

In an effort to accommodate higher flows of evening rush hour traffic at the site, Walmart's team of consulting engineers have lengthened the queue lane plans from 270 feet to 320 feet at the middle entrance to the site on Mayde Road. Mayde Road will also have a new traffic light where it intersects the new by-pass (KY 956).

A video simulation of the traffic model can be viewed here. Dempsey said the traffic engineer at his company, Carlson Consulting Engineers, located in greater Memphis, Tenn., simulated the traffic to depict the "worst case scenario, ten years into the future."

Dempsey said that Walmart's traffic plans have received "conceptual approval" from the state transportation cabinet, and that if anything, Walmart would do more, not less, to help accommodate traffic flows. Dempsey said it is unknown when KYTC will give the plans final approval. "We have to get their blessing. If they don't think our plans are adequate, they will let us know," he said.

With large retailers such as Walmart, the main traffic concern is typically incoming traffic, according to Dempsey. "There's never a delay in getting cars out," Dempsey told the Commission. "People coming in to shop at the same time aren't all leaving at the same time."

Commissioner Martin Richards mentioned current traffic woes in the westbound lanes on KY 956, approaching the southbound onramp to Interstate 75. "There's not enough room to stack [traffic] under that overpass now, so I can imagine it backing up [as shoppers queue for the light]. I don't know what the solution is," he said. Richards also commented on the frustration of coming off the southbound Interstate exit only to be met with two traffic lights, as is currently the case.

In an interview with The Edge, Richards said that hopefully the state will provide a solution for both. "It's going to fall on the state to add more lanes," he said in the interview. "But for now, there is nothing in [Walmart's] study about the on- and off- ramps. The state is still reviewing it."

When asked if the Commission had alerted KYTC to any concerns, Richards said it had not. "We're trusting they know what they are doing." He also acknowledged that during the holiday season, both incoming and outgoing traffic at the retailer's site could be disruptive, regardless of what the traffic study models.

Planning and codes administrator, Amanda Haney, told the Commission that in her opinion, the state will require Walmart to do more traffic planning. Currently, the three road improvements in KYTC's conceptual approval are that Walmart will pay for the state to widen the I-75 on- and off- ramps at Exit 77, Walmart will build the longer traffic queue lanes, and the state will "holistically" change the timing on all of the area traffic lights. Mayde Road is a local road, but because it empties out or impacts state-maintained roads the state must be involved, Haney said.

"But they've basically said, go ahead and plan on building and we'll figure it out," Richards said to laughter from the other Commissioners and Haney.

"We can't start construction without their approval," Dempsey said.

Commissioner Jeff Johnson asked if an "entrance-only" off of KY 956 could be planned, but Dempsey said the state already turned that down.

Other than awaiting KYTC's more detailed response, Haney said the site plans for the super store have been approved by her department with the exception of Walmart's storm water design, which she expected would be filed by the end of this week. Haney also said Walmart is requesting a waiver to create smaller parking spots, down from the standard 10 feet by 19 feet to 9.5 feet by 18 feet.

The retailer also requested a waiver to have 42 foot ceilings instead of the standard 22 foot ceilings. The Commission voted to approve Walmart's development plan, contingent upon acceptance by Codes and Planning of the storm water plan, and to approve the two waivers, in a unanimous voice roll call vote.

Richards asked Dempsey about a gas line that runs through the site. Dempsey said his company was working with the gas company that owns the line to reroute it.

Haney told the Commission that the site is divided into five plats, which will not all be developed simultaneously. One plat, according to Dempsey, is likely to never be developed because a stream runs through it. Another plat could be sold off or developed for additional retail spaces, Haney said. This is important, Haney told the Commission, because before the City normally would sign off on the final build out, all public infrastructure would be in place. In this situation, however, the City will require Walmart to post a $2.1 million bond to secure all incomplete infrastructure improvements. The final plat will be the one referred to as the official plat on record, Haney said.

The bond will cover: expanded traffic lanes on Mayde Road, the new traffic signal, striping the roads, and any other related road improvements, sewer and water infrastructure, and a 25% contingency fee that will be held for 30 days after the bond is released so that the City has recourse if anything needs tweaking after the new traffic patterns are completed.

The Commission unanimously agreed in a roll call voice vote to mandate Walmart post the $2.1 million bond before groundbreaking.

In the interview, Richards told The Edge that speaking for himself, he believes the P and Z is doing its level best to help ensure the development satisfies Walmart, while also doing as little harm to the citizenry of Berea as is possible. "I've seen some of the comments on social media about this not being good for the city, but we live in a free enterprise economy, so we're just doing the best we can," he said.