Enfield
The Enfield Planning Board approved construction of the proposed 7,800-square-foot facility and adjacent gas pumps last summer.
But before ground could be broken, officials at the state Department of Transportation objected to plans, which called for traffic to enter and exit the property from Route 4, according to Enfield Town Planner Scott Osgood.
The DOT worried it would be unsafe for vehicles to cross the center lane of the busy road and denied the project a driveway permit, Osgood said last week. With new traffic patterns being proposed, he said, the entire project will undergo a new hearing on Wednesday.
Plans submitted to the Enfield Planning Board earlier this month show a small, concrete median along Route 4, which would prevent eastbound traffic from turning left into the store’s parking lot.
The exit along Route 4 also would be redesigned, under the new plans, adding curbing and “no left turn” signs to encourage traffic to continue toward Lebanon.
Drivers coming eastbound instead would access and leave the new Jake’s from Maple Street, less than 100 feet away from the Route 4 entrance.
“That wasn’t our request either. We certainly didn’t want to see that restriction, but that’s what the DOT decided would be necessary,” said Owner Bruce Bergeron, who recently purchased nine Jake’s Market & Deli convenience stores, along with the Jake’s Coffee Co. shop in Lebanon.
Aside from a new traffic pattern, plans for the store were left largely unchanged, Bergeron said in a phone interview last week.
The company is still planning a full-service deli in the store, akin to the one inside Papa Z’s in Canaan, Bergeron said. A sit-down cafe and drive thru window also continue to be in the works, he added.
However, Bergeron said, the changes being proposed likely will see more traffic coming down Maple Street from Route 4. The largely residential neighborhood also is home to a post office, apartments and single-family homes.
The proposed Jake’s property currently sees about 8,800 vehicles pass by daily, according to DOT traffic reports.
But only between 600 and 700 customers — or between 1,300 and 1,400 vehicle entries and exits — are expected at the new Jake’s, according to a report filed last summer by Burlington-based consulting firm Engineering Ventures.
It’s not yet clear how neighbors will react to the increased use of Maple Street. Messages left with several abutters on Sunday were not returned.
Officials said no neighbors attended the Planning Board’s initial review last summer.
“It was a very positive meeting,” Planning Board Chairman Dan Kiley said at the time. “We like the looks of what they’re going to do and we’re glad to see them coming to Enfield.”
Bergeron also predicted there would be little opposition to using Maple Street as an access to the store and gas pumps, saying a driveway from the street also was included in previous plans.
“The first 100 yards of Maple Street is all commercial property and the turn from our property is before the post office,” he said. “I don’t think it has any effect on neighbors up that way.”
The proposed Jake’s will also take the place of two former commercial properties.
Enfield Hardware and Supply closed its doors in May after nearly 33 years in the community. The new convenience store will utilize that lot and another that housed the former Tinkham’s Store.
Pending Planning Board approval, construction of the new Jake’s is expected to begin next month and open in late fall or early winter, Bergeron said.
The Enfield Planning Board is scheduled to discuss the new Jake’s plans at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Public Works Facility at 74 Lockehaven Road.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.