Neighbors press traffic, pedestrian-safety and screening concerns as planning board reviews Tennis & Swim Club proposal; hearing continued

Representatives for the Westborough Tennis & Swim Club presented revised site plans at the Planning Board’s March 17 meeting and said they had eliminated a second driveway onto Oak Street, adjusted parking, moved parking away from newly delineated wetlands and updated drainage, lighting and landscaping plans.

Wesley Fliss of Cardi Engineering, representing the applicant, said the changes respond to a long set of departmental and peer‑review comments and to concerns from the conservation commission and abutters. "We eliminated that second entrance onto Oak Street and just left the one entrance," Fliss said, and described added landscaping and a traffic‑friendly reconfiguration of the front parking so fire apparatus can safely maneuver.

Traffic engineer Jason Gobin (Dewberry) summarized a traffic‑impact assessment that used a 72‑hour automatic traffic recorder on Oak Street, manual turning counts at three study intersections, and a 4% seasonal adjustment to account for February sampling. Gobin reported that, after projecting to a 7‑year horizon and applying trip‑distribution assumptions, the study intersections would operate at acceptable levels of service under build conditions. "These intersections do have the capacity to accommodate the additional traffic that’s expected to be generated by the proposed development," he said.

Several residents and a select‑board member who spoke during public comment said the study understates evening and seasonal traffic peaks — particularly during swim‑ and sports‑season evenings and hockey events — and asked the board to review pedestrian connections and crosswalks to the adjacent children’s facility. "I am skeptical" of the low seasonal adjustment Gobin used, said Select Board member Patrick Welch speaking as a resident, noting the February counts occurred just after a storm. Multiple neighbors urged stronger screening and a fence to mitigate headlight intrusion, with some board members suggesting a combined fence and evergreen planting to provide immediate protection and long‑term screening.

Planning board members asked applicants to consider extending screening and to tie the sidewalk/crosswalk design into the existing 35 Chauncey Street property so pedestrian routes are continuous. The board also requested information about the traffic increase that would push study intersections into LOS E/F as a sensitivity analysis and asked the applicant to work with CEI (peer reviewer) and town engineering before the next meeting. The board continued the hearing to April 7, 2026.