Council President John A. Michitson
The city no longer plans to study making Burnham Street one-way from Lincoln Avenue.
City councilors on Tuesday removed the project from the Traffic and Safety Committee’s study list.
Councilor Michael S. McGonagle said residents last spring expressed concern about the potential for increased traffic on their street as a result of construction of a stand-alone CVS pharmacy in Rivers’ Edge Plaza.
Both police and City Engineer John H. Pettis wanted to wait to see what traffic patterns emerged after the CVS construction ended and the store was open for a while, McGonagle said.
Council President John A. Michitson said a new site plan from the developers of a proposed Burger King restaurant in the plaza incorporates the neighbors’ safety concerns.
“The most significant improvement is to narrow the Lincoln Avenue exit and entrance to Burnham Street,” Michitson said.
The traffic improvements will be paid for by the developer of the Burger King restaurant, which will expand and move into the former Pentucket Bank building at the front of the plaza parking lot.
Michitson said the fast-food restaurant appears to be the only project on the horizon for the half-empty plaza.
The council president said he asked Economic Development and Planning Director William Pillsbury if and when there would be another investment in the property.
“There’s nothing on the radar screen at all,” Michitson said.