Permit gridlock; Slots traffic still a major concern.

• Author: Spencer, Susan
• Position: News

Byline: Susan Spencer

5The conjecture: People who entered the casino from the northwest, on McCracken Road, would most likely try to make a U-turn in the mall, which would further exacerbate congestion there.

5Emergencies: Board members also requested that Mass Gaming & Entertainment not only install Opticom systems to allow emergency vehicles to pass through stoplights, but also install the system transmitters in fire and police vehicles.

MILLBURY -- Left turns, U-turns, intersections and sight lines drew sharp discussion Monday night between Planning Board members and representatives of a proposed slots parlor developer.

The board held a special permit hearing, continued from Aug. 12, at Millbury Junior/Senior High School.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, has proposed a roughly 110,000-square-foot slots casino on McCracken Road with 1,250 slot machines, multipurpose space, food and beverage venues and a day spa.

The project must receive Planning Board approval for a special permit, among other permits, as well as approval of a host community agreement at a townwide referendum Sept. 24, in order to proceed with its application to the state Gaming Commission.

Planning Board member Richard F. Gosselin, who chairs the board, said the board would not make a decision at the hearing because it had not received requested information from developers by last Thursday's deadline. The hearing will reconvene at 8 p.m. Sept. 9 at the school.

But he was adamant that traffic concerns at McCracken Road and the nearby intersection for the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley be properly mitigated.

"I am not going to allow you to build a facility... and have people trapped like rats for hours on end because traffic failed on this day or that day,'' he said to applause from the audience.

He asked the developers to install a traffic monitoring system with live video feed to the Police Department so they could provide extra traffic direction if needed.

Developers have proposed prohibiting a left-hand exit from the casino to McCracken Road, although that could be adjusted in emergencies.

Mr. Gosselin told Robert Michaud, principal with MDM Traffic Consultants, that people who had entered the casino from the northwest, on McCracken Road, would most likely try to make a U-turn in the mall, which would further exacerbate congestion there.

Mr. Michaud told the board that since the Aug. 12 presentation, the developer added roadway...