Goddard School proposal at former Acme raises queuing and left‑turn safety questions

The applicant team for a proposed Goddard School at 160 West Putnam Avenue told the commission July 7 they plan to repurpose the 20,500‑square‑foot former supermarket into a preschool with a 6,000‑square‑foot outdoor playground and a flexible drop‑off model intended to spread demand across a 7:00–9:30 a.m. arrival window.

"Rather than having all the children arrive and depart at the same time, they have a flexible drop off and pickup schedule," Tom Hegney said, describing the operational model. The applicant proposed 30 on‑site parking spaces for drop‑off and 50 additional spaces across Dayton Avenue for staff.

Commissioners asked for a traffic engineering analysis detailing how vehicles will queue on site and how the site will function if many parents arrive at the same time despite the flexible model. Commissioner Nick asked the team to show how grade changes and curb geometry affect circulation and whether the loading dock and rear pavement could be repurposed safely. Mary and others pressed about child‑safety measures for staggered drop‑off and how staff will manage arrivals when multiple vehicles coincide.

The applicant said it retained a traffic engineer to expand the scope of the study and will submit a full report with circulation diagrams, peak‑hour queuing models and left‑turn/sight‑distance analysis when the application is filed in the fall.

What happens next: The applicant will return with a traffic/queuing study, revised site circulation plans (including accessible pedestrian routes) and the proposed playground and landscape plan.