Wal-Mart asks for 14 days to fix flaws

by: Mara Stine - 08/05/05
http://www.theoutlookonline.com/article/8139

Now that a Gresham city engineer has recommended denying Wal-Mart’s application to build a local supercenter, the company has two weeks to address problems with the store’s traffic study.

Despite a pledge to spend $2 million on road improvements, the store’s traffic would snarl several intersections near the proposed site near Southeast 182nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard, according to a city memo from Gresham Senior Planner Jim Wheeler.

The move means a delay in the city’s decision regarding Wal-Mart’s application. A decision was expected Friday, Aug. 5.

Now Wal-Mart has two weeks, or until Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the latest, to try to resolve these issues, said Javon Gilmore, spokeswoman for GreshamFirst, which opposes the superstore.

According to an independent city review conducted by DKS Associates, a traffic engineering firm, traffic generated from Wal-Mart would jam the intersection at Powell Boulevard and 182nd Avenue, causing the intersection to fail.

Wal-Mart’s traffic study didn’t come to the same conclusion.

In fact, Wal-Mart consultants suggested mitigating traffic by allowing cars to turn left at Powell and Southwest Highland Drive on flashing yellow arrows if there was no oncoming traffic.

Due to the high number of crashes at this intersection — 87 wrecks during the five years from 1999 through 2003 — such left turns would not be allowed, according to a memo from Gresham Senior Engineer Jay McCoy to Wheeler.
Also, DKS found that during peak afternoon traffic, northbound cars would back up on Highland Drive at Powell, blocking an intersection at Southwest 11th Street 18 percent of the time.

Gilmore called the city’s recommended denial of Wal-Mart’s application encouraging.

“We can be cautiously optimistic that it’s the way the city is leaning,” she said.

Regardless of how the city rules, both Wal-Mart and GreshamFirst will have 12 days to file an appeal of the decision before a city hearings officer. The hearings officer’s decision can then be appealed to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

The city received a record-setting amount of comments regarding the controversial store, including 1,181 individual comments and a petition against the store signed by 6,290 people.

GreshamFirst members also appealed to city councilors Tuesday, Aug. 3, to adopt a big-box ordinance to require such stores to prove they would be an economic benefit to the city.