Bus Safety a Concern for Residents in Nursing Facility Application

On the eve of what is expected to be a well-attended  meeting, the residents leading the charge against a proposed skilled nursing facility asked  to weigh in on the application as they believe the complex may hinder bus traffic along Route 571.

Though Rose Trafton of Wilbur Avenue and Richard Lareau of Shorin Way said that they have with the application of the proposed approximately $25 million Manchester Rehab Realty facility, they wanted to ensure that the board is aware of the structure that may be built a little more than a half mile away from and  on Route 571.

"We wanted to bring up the transportation safety and road safety with the schools nearby," Lareau told the board during the public comment portion of its regular monthly meeting Wednesday night. 

The zoning board will continue to hear expert testimony and public comment during its meeting on  in the multipurpose room at Ridgeway Elementary School, a month after hundreds of residents turned out and forced the board to find a venue large enough to accommodate everyone.

"Our concern is that this facility is going to be more like a hospital, with the traffic," Trafton said. "My child rides the school bus. I've been behind the school buses on [Route] 571."

During a , the applicant's site planner Tiffany Cuviello said that the facility's 260 beds would not cause excessive traffic since most patients would not be entering and exiting each day. The applicant also testified that any ambulances transporting patients to the facility would arrive during business hours and without sirens on.

But those living nearby the proposed site at at 3086 Ridgeway Rd. remain concerned.

"You've got the elementary and middle schools right there, and it's all of the kids in our neighborhood that are going to be riding those buses, and we're very concerned about their safety," Trafton said. "There's a reason most townships don't put hospitals near schools — because ambulances and school buses do not mix."

Superintendent David Trethaway said that the school district had not been notified by the applicant's traffic expert as to what effects the facility would have on vehicles traveling Route 571, the roadway on which both schools are located.

Trethaway said that he and some members of the the board will be in attendance at the zoning board's meeting.

The school board's president, Donald Webster, said that the body will consider the concerns.

"Now that we're aware of it, we will take a look at it and if we need to formulate a position and send something to the planning board, we will do it," he said.

The application for the facility has  with those living nearby since it requires a variance as the land is zoned as residential. Some nearby also worry that the facility could one day be used for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, even though Manchester Rehab Realty has not applied for those usages.