Casino Road: A Ride Along East Main Street

If driving East Main St. from Fortune Blvd. to Holliston is not a part of your usual travels, a trip along this section of Route 16 may be revealing in light of the casino complex proposed for the area.

Give or take a couple, the following number of homes can be found along this stretch of Route 16:

27    Homes on East Main St.   
45    Homes on Zain Circle
13    Homes on Whispering Pines Drive
10    Homes on Wildwood Drive
4      Homes on Pine Needle Circle
4      Homes on Dogwood Lane
1      Home on Appleton St.
6      Homes on Adams St

Reportedly, the casino complex would have a 350 room hotel, several restaurants, 125 gaming tables, 4,200 slot machines, and 50 poker tables. With success, an additional hotel and more gambling space could be added. It is unknown if this complex would also have a theater for nightly entertainment. 

This complex would be attracting customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  In addition to the cars and buses customers and employees would be using, the complex would need a steady stream of trucks to deliver goods and trucks to haul away the refuse.  Limos, taxis and vans would bring in conventioneers.  Helicopter flights from Worcester, Boston or Providence airports might shuttle in the big spenders.

One can imagine that vehicles from 495 would use the Cedar Street exit and drive over Fortune Blvd. to Route 16.  Traffic would also come from the Holliston side of Route 16. Vehicles would also use the Medway Road exit from 495 and turn onto Beaver St. It would also come thru Medway and find its way to  Route 16. Many, many thousands of vehicles would travel this stretch of Route 16 on a daily basis.  On holiday weekends, the number of customers visiting this casino complex could potentially equal the population of Milford.

Traffic leaving this casino complex could be dangerous.  Having spent several hours at a slot machine or throwing dice and having been served free drinks, drivers -- some of whom might be under the influence -- could bring traffic accidents to the streets of Milford and surrounding towns at any time of day. School bus stops in several towns would have to be carefully guarded.

The casino developers could possibly build a wide road that would erase the front yards of some of the East Main St. homes. They could buy some of these homes, rip them down and create an HOV lane -- perhaps not right away, but as the casino complex grows.

Some homes on Zain Circle, purchased in the early phase of the development in 2005 and 2006 have seen their value drastically reduced by the economic downturn. The homes on Whispering Pines Drive, Pine Needle Drive and the other streets in the area were, of course, also impacted by the economic situation.

Imagine how the value of these homes along East Main St. and on area streets could change with a casino complex as a neighbor. Imagine how the quality of life of the folks living in those homes could change with a casino complex as a neighbor.

According to some sources, the entrance to the proposed casino complex could be directly opposite Whispering Pines Drive, just before Wildwood Drive.
 
As you take your exploratory drive along Route 16 towards Holliston, think about this complex having a theater for nightly entertainment. Recall the last time you were on Route 9 in the Framingham/Natick area during rush hour.  Or maybe headed to the Cape from Boston on a Friday afternoon in July.  Now imagine that traffic on the street in front of your home.

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Note: The homes in this area are in Milford’s Precinct 2 which spreads out along both sides of East Main St. from Beach St. to the Holliston line. You can go to nomilfordcasino.blogspot.com and find directions to the “New Precinct Map”. You can also find a list of candidates who will have their names on the ballot on April 30 as Precinct 2 Town Meeting members. 

It is important to know that the top 10 vote getters in each precinct -- whether their names are on the ballot or if they are write-ins -- are declared the winners.