The Derry Highway Safety Committee has passed on to the Planning Board a proposed mixed-use development at the junction of Route 111 and Island Pond Road.
At its Dec. 18 meeting, the committee heard from David Frahm, developer of Cowbell Corners; Joshua Manning, his engineer; and traffic engineer Steve Pernow on the project, which will begin with a gas station and convenience store and be phased in to include two more buildings.
Pernow said the State Department of Transportation (DOT) did a traffic count in 2013 and reported 14,000 cars a day on that stretch of Route 111, down from 15,000 in 2010.
Pernow said the intersection is continuing to operate below capacity in the afternoon peak time, which is good news for his employers.
When the project is fully built, Pernow said, he recommends adding an additional five seconds to the green light on the left-hand turn and an additional 10 seconds on the north-south green light.
Derry Superintendent of Operations Alan Cote reminded the group that the DOT controls the signal lights. “If there is too much ‘queueing,’ they’ll make the adjustment,” he said.
Police Chief Ed Garone asked Pernow if he had any observations on the right turn to the east-west corridor.
“There are wide shoulders on the east and west turns,” Pernow said, “and some drivers are using the shoulder for their right turn onto Island Pond Road. It helps in the matter of capacity.” Making the shoulder an official right turn could be part of future development, Pernow said.
The tenant mix is estimated to be office, retail and medical, Frahm said.
Member Randy Chase asked how much traffic the tenants were expected to generate, and Pernow said there would be 130 customers during the peak hours, for all three buildings.
For queueing, Pernow said he expected no more than seven cars in the morning and no more than 11 in the afternoon.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposal to the Planning Board.
