Woburn council continues Central Square overlay hearing after traffic study, public concerns about density and traffic

WOBURN, Mass. — The Woburn City Council continued its public hearing on a proposed Central Square overlay zoning amendment on Tuesday after a traffic consultant presented findings and residents raised concerns about density, parking and neighborhood cut-through traffic.

The council received a traffic study prepared for the petitioner, Gustaveena Realty LLC, and heard a detailed presentation from traffic consultant Scott Thornton of Vanasse & Associates. The council then voted to continue the hearing to March 18 so the planning board can finish its review and the public can submit further comments.

The study was prepared for an upper-limit proposal of 225 residential units. Scott Thornton said the analysis used standard ITE trip-generation rates and found a net increase of roughly 80–85 peak-hour vehicle trips associated with the project, split roughly evenly between entering and exiting trips. The study modeled several potential roadway changes including a relocated Wyman Place, a possible closure of a segment of Lowell Street with an expanded Central Square park, an internal site rotary and targeted turn-lane additions on Wilcox Circle and Main Street. "This is one potential circumstance, but not the only one," Thornton said, adding some intersection changes were not required for the project but were studied to show mitigation options.

The consultant said some intersections would operate at similar levels of service with or without the project, but the Wyman Place/Clinton/Main Street intersection could perform poorly in the evening under the current configuration and would improve with the realignment shown in the study. He noted Place Lane, a nearby multifamily development used for comparison, generates about 21–35% less traffic than the rates used for the proposal.

Residents said the study understates local conditions and urged the council to consider weekend traffic, neighborhood cut-through routes and parking impacts. "Clinton Street is impossible almost for residents to back out of at many times of the day," Elizabeth Kavicki said, noting school-time and evening congestion. Carol Nagel urged the council not to assume an overlay removes later oversight: "If this ordinance moves forward and Mr. Taqi files a special permit with us, we will be back for another litany of hearings to discuss any limitations," Councilor DeMearns clarified during the hearing, responding to residents' concerns.

Councilors pressed the consultant about scope and methodology. One councilor noted Hart Street and other side streets were not in the study area; Thornton said the scoping followed MassDOT guidelines that typically extend study limits to intersections that meet threshold criteria for percent change or peak-hour trips. Several councilors also raised parking and signal timing as mitigation matters that will require specific conditions if the ordinance advances.

Attorney Joseph Tabby, representing the petitioner, told the council the planning board has continued its hearing to March 11 and that the zoning amendment is the first step; any specific development would require a later special-permit review. Tabby asked that the council continue its hearing to the March 18 meeting, the first council meeting after the planning board recommendation.

After public comment and council questions, the council voted to receive the study documents into the record and continue the public hearing to March 18. No final zoning votes were taken; the council and the planning board must both complete reviews before any project-specific permits would be considered.

Why it matters: The overlay would change the city zoning code and set development parameters for the Central Square area. Councilors said ordinance language on density, parking and special-permit conditions will be essential to protect neighborhood streets, schools and traffic flow if a large multifamily project proceeds.

What’s next: The planning board will continue its review on March 11. The council set the overlay hearing to resume March 18, after the planning board report is available.