TOPSHAM

A traffic engineer working on a master plan for Topsham Fair Mall Road says traffic will grow an estimated 30 percent in the next 20 years at the mall.

Topsham selectmen in March awarded a contract for a master transportation plan study to TYLIN International and MRLD, with the price not to exceed $48,985.

The goals of the project are to increase safety for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists, to enhance landscaping and signage, and to institute better planning by identifying and accommodating current and future needs at the mall.

The scope of the master plan includes a traffic analysis, update of the impact fee ordinance, road and intersection design improvements, project estimates, a project budget and a project schedule.

Town staff and their consultants were at the Topsham Fair Mall one day last week to discuss the master plan with people stopping by. Town Planner Rod Melanson said they hoped to hear from businesses at the mall and estimated at least 20 people stopped by.

Melanson said people agreed there is room for improvement, and store managers say their business will be affected it traffic doesn’t flow well.

Traffic engineer Thomas Errico with TYLIN said the traffic analysis found a lot of traffic on Topsham Fair Mall Road between Route 196 and Monument Place, and the traffic counts increasingly dwindle as you move towards Winter Street. Errico had plans that show a roundabout at the Park Drive intersection along Topsham Fair Mall Road, and then the two lanes transition to one lane.

Topsham Fair Mall Road is a town road now and needs to be more complete in terms of the accommodations it provides to everyone — including pedestrians and bicyclists, he said. The road currently has an inconsistent configuration.

“We’re looking fundamentally at sidewalks on both sides of the street, landscaping,” as well as continuation of a shared-use path that may integrate into an offroad path by Best Buy, Errico said.

Errico said traffic will grow approximately 30 percent in 20 years if all the potential development is built out. That takes into account possible future redevelopment of the current Crooker Construction property opposite Route 196 from the mall.

The draft master plan provides additional streets through some of the current parking area to help relieve traffic on Topsham Fair Mall, and shifts some employee parking to the rear of the buildings to overcome lost parking in front.

Errico said there are many low-cost mitigation measures, things that can be as simple as adjusting traffic signals.

If the town can implement only a portion of the final plan, it is still a big improvement, he said. Even if it’s just increasing safety.

“You can’t go down Monument

Place and walk to Hannaford. There isn’t a sidewalk,” he said.

Developer Dan Catlin stopped by to look at the plans with Errico and Melanson. His retail project under construction in the mall and an adjacent project near Panera Bread spurred the study after Planning Board review.

“I think it’s a very proactive approach, as the retail environment becomes more challenging because of Internet sales,” Catlin said. This project also will help make connection to his nearby Mallett Woods project.

This planning project will allow for a fast-track permitting process, and allows the town to identified traffic issues early rather than becoming mired in them. Anytime you can make traffic movement easier, shoppers are happier, which helps you rise to the top.

Melanson said the final master plan will include recommended improvements and implementation. It will include short term measures, but many won’t be implemented right away.

Melanson noted some facets of the plan if adopted may be funded through grants or impact fees and not solely through taxes.

A public meeting on the Topsham Fair Mall Road master plan is scheduled for Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Topsham municipal building.

dmoore@timesrecord.com