The Village at Providence Point would be limited to a senior living facility with the average age of residents at about 79 years. No retail or commercial development would be allowed. A solid traffic study found that with recent changes in the development, there would only be about 60 AM and PM rush hour vehicular trips generated from the 302 housing senior units and 48 health care suites. We are very pleased with the traffic improvements agreed upon by developers National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS).
NLCS has agreed to make significant road and intersection improvements that should alleviate traffic concerns. They include:
- Widening the south leg of Spa Road approaching Forest Drive to add a second northbound left turn lane. The resultant lane use for this approach would be double left turn lanes and a shared through and right turn lane;
- Building a new deceleration lane on Spa Road for southbound right turns accessing the development site at Skippers Lane from Spa Road;
- Converting the intersection of Forest Drive at Crystal Spring Farm Road to a right-in, right-out only intersection to remove potential conflicts for westbound lefts entering the site and northbound lefts exiting the site;
- Changing the southbound lane use at the intersection of Forest Drive at South Cherry Grove Avenue from a shared through/left turn lane and a dedicated right turn lane, to a dedicated left turn lane and a shared left/through/right turn lane while maintaining split phasing in the north and southbound directions;
- Contributing six figures towards right of way costs for the long-planned connector road from the western side of the development to Skippers Lane behind the CVS (shown on the left side of the image above). This 560-foot road will allow residents to access the pharmacy, Safeway, and restaurants without using Forest Drive and Spa Road. Other area residents could also access this connector road without having to go out onto Forest Drive. The city would acquire the right of way and pay all costs for the design and construction of the road;
- Implementing signalization timing improvements at the Cherry Grove and Spa Road intersections along Forest Drive;
- Preparing a construction management plan with input from affected parties, the City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, and the Maryland State Highway Administration. It will be submitted at the time of application for a grading permit to alleviate traffic, noise, and dust problems during the construction phase of the project.
- Coordinating the arrival and departure of workers at their project with the Annapolis Middle School arrivals and departures of teachers, students, and school buses.
- During construction, providing parking onsite or on immediately adjoining properties for workers and the project management team. NLCS will work to assure that the roadway and other traffic improvements detailed above will be installed in the early stages of the project’s construction to assist traffic flow; and
- Once the CCRC opens for residents’ occupancy, bus or van transportation will be provided for the CCRC residents to area locations, including shopping, doctor’s appointments, and trips to downtown Annapolis, further alleviating traffic.
These extensive traffic improvements appear to have attained our goal of improving traffic flows.