Casino-Free Milford "Busts" Fourth Myth Regarding the Foxwoods Casino Proposal: TRAFFIC!

Every other week, Casino-Free Milford posts its Casino Myth Busters feature in this blog space to debunk misconceptions about the Foxwoods casino proposal. Check out our fourth "busted" casino myth below and look for more busted myths every other week.

CASINO MYTH #4

THE FACTS: 

Traffic Congestion Is an Ongoing Headache for Milford Residents.

Everyone who lives and works in Milford knows that traffic can really back up on our local roads and highways. Main Street traffic in Milford is often at a standstill due to excessive volume.

The Foxwoods “Traffic Impact and Access Study” states the casino will ultimately generate even more traffic, approximately over 20,000 trips every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; 29,700 trips every Friday; 36,800 trips every Saturday; and more than 26,000 trips every Sunday. The highest volume is projected to be Saturday evening when 2,758 vehicles are expected to be arriving and exiting the casino within the peak hour of 6:00 to 7:00 PM.

Refer to:  http://casino.milford.ma.us/wp-content/uploads/Foxwoods-Traffic-Study-7-9-2013.pdf

Casino Traffic Will Include More Than Just Cars.

If the Foxwoods casino were to be built, thousands of employees, patrons, vendors, and service providers would be traveling back and forth to the casino on a daily basis. These vehicles would include not only cars, but also limos, buses, long-distance haulers, laundry service vans, landscaping trucks, armored trucks, and garbage trucks. (Foxwoods Connecticut sees 100 buses a day.) The additional traffic volume will be coming not only from within Milford, but also from surrounding towns. Those in regions not convenient to the Mass Pike or I-495 will need to make their way to the casino via local roads, particularly Routes 16, 109, 140, 126, and 85.

Casino Traffic Will Be Moving 24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year.

The casino will operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, which means traffic will be moving to and from Foxwoods all day and all night. Foxwoods states that their peak traffic volume will occur Friday morning, Friday afternoon, and Saturday evening, but the fact of the matter is there will be a constant stream of traffic going in and out of Foxwoods every day and every night—unlike the traffic flow at an office park or shopping center.

Casino Traffic on I-495 Would Negatively Affect Milford Residents.

Many Milfordians travel on I-495 to commute to work each day. We also take I-495 to travel outside of Milford for shopping in Bellingham and Wrentham, games at Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium, and trips to the New Hampshire mountains and the Cape beaches. Some of us even use I-495 to travel quickly from the north side of Milford to the south side just to avoid all the traffic and lights on Fortune Boulevard, Beaver Street, and Main Street.

With I-495 traffic already close to a crawl at peak hours, how much worse will it be with 29% more vehicles on Fridays and 50% more vehicles on Saturdays?* Will the new proposed Collector/Distributor (CD) roads really solve the problem of the additional casino traffic? How will these tens of thousands of added vehicles affect our commutes and other travels?

* Foxwoods estimates that 91% of the casino traffic will use I-495. That’s approximately 27,000 more vehicle trips on Friday, representing a 29% increase over the current level of 93,000 vehicles. And it’s 33,500 more vehicle trips on Saturday, a 50% increase over the current level of 67,000 vehicles.

Residents on Route 16 Would Be Hardest Hit.

With one of the main entrances to Foxwoods being located on Route 16 and a new access point to I-495 from Route 16 being proposed, residents who live in this area will see the worst increase in town traffic, making it increasingly difficult just to turn left or right onto Route 16 each day. The Friday afternoon peak will produce over 400 more vehicles traveling on Route 16 between Fortune Boulevard and the Holliston town line. The expected traffic increase on Route 16 is so significant that Foxwoods’ engineer Sean Reardon has publicly stated that these area residents are being asked to “take a bullet for the town.”

What Impacts Are Missing from the Foxwoods Report?

The Foxwoods “Traffic Impact and Access Study” is 56 pages long and includes 18 appendices, but it neglects to address the following traffic-related concerns:

• Construction! How many years will we be living in a road and highway construction zone? How agonizing will our commutes become when I-495 is being blasted and rebuilt to include four new CD roads? What roads will the construction vehicles use each day?
• Noise and Air Pollution! The substantial increase in traffic will not only add to the congestion on our roadways, but will also increase our current noise and air pollution levels. Mitigation for addressing these two critical issues that affect our quality of life and public health will not be determined before a host community agreement is signed.
• Traffic Accidents! An increase in traffic volume will most likely result in an increase in traffic accidents, putting more citizens at risk as well as causing more traffic delays.

Watch our TRAFFIC VIDEO that shows just how bad Milford traffic already is: 

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXISBauTSEc&feature=youtu.be

Our Website: http://casinofreemilford.com/video/

Check out all of Casino-Free Milford’s “busted” myths on our website: http://casinofreemilford.com/myths/

Casino-Free Milford is a volunteer, nonpartisan, grassroots group of Milford citizens dedicated to informing the Milford community about the negative impacts a destination resort casino would impose. Learn more on CasinoFreeMilford.com and get regular news updates on Facebook.com/CasinoFreeMilford. Email us at: casinofreemilford@gmail.com