Avon panel denies direct Avon Avenue access for proposed Walmart, continues market proposal for 30 days amid local safety concerns

The Avon Advisory Plan Commission denied a key design waiver for a proposed Walmart Neighborhood Market at 1439 South Avon Avenue, rejecting a petitioned curb cut onto Avon Avenue and sending the development plan review back to the petitioner for revision.

Staff had recommended denial of the waiver that would permit direct access on Avon Avenue — or a right‑in/right‑out with insufficient separation from neighboring intersections — because the town’s traffic consultants projected that the development would add roughly 3,423 new daily vehicle trips (110 in the AM peak hour and 326 in the PM peak hour) and would degrade the level of service at the Governor’s Row/Avon Avenue intersection from an acceptable level to one the staff called unacceptable during peak periods. Staff urged denial of the access waiver and the waiver to exceed the town’s average parking‑lot lighting maximum; staff supported a small exception for light spillage at driveway intersections.

Petition representatives — including land‑use attorney Misha Rabino and traffic engineer Matt Kohus — said the revised plan reduces the original full access proposal to a right‑in/right‑out and includes a proposed northbound right‑turn lane to get site traffic out of the through lane. Kohus told the commission modeling showed the PM peak movement that drops to level‑of‑service F was borderline: “there’s only two seconds there,” he said, noting that queueing was small and that drivers could stage in the center lane and make a two‑stage movement that would materially improve the modeled delay.

Residents and neighborhood leaders testified at length against the Avon Avenue access. Speakers representing the Village at Turner Trace Homeowners Association and other neighborhoods described heavy pedestrian activity, multiple nearby schools, school‑release traffic and concerns for emergency‑vehicle access near the new fire station. One neighborhood leader requested that any access be right‑in/right‑out and that the town require substantial off‑site improvements if the market proceeds.

Staff listed several roadway improvements it believes are necessary if the project is to proceed without direct Avon Avenue access relief: constructing a roundabout at Governor’s Row and Avon Avenue, widening Governor’s Row to four lanes adjacent to the site, installing neighborhood speed humps, and providing a dedicated right‑turn lane from westbound County Road 150/Oral Way into the site. Petitioners said a roundabout would be costly and argued the duration of poor service is brief; a traffic consultant said the PM peak delay occurs only over a small portion of the peak hour and that other factors (existing signal gaps and two‑stage left turns) mitigate the effect.

After the commission denied the Avon Avenue access waiver, petitioners asked to continue consideration of the DPR so they could revise the site plan; the commission granted a 30‑day continuance and set the item to return March 23. The commission did approve a narrow waiver to allow slightly higher light spillage at driveway intersections for safety and visibility.

What happens next: petitioners will revise the development plan to respond to the denied access waiver and staff’s list of recommended off‑site improvements and return to the commission within 30 days for further consideration.