A Corner for Walgreens
Walgreens built a $74 billion company by being in the right place at the right time, but a possible new location at the intersection of Oak Tree Road and NYS Route 303 might be a tough spot for “The Pharmacy America Trusts.”
This May the 113-year-old drug store company submitted a proposal to the Orangetown Planning Board for a 14,624-square-foot store at 81 Route 303, the former site of Tappan Auto. The plan includes a drive-thru window and at least 51 parking spaces. A traffic study done by Maser Consulting and submitted to the planning board in June suggests approximately 500 cars a day will flow through the site if the store is open 24 hours. According to John Giardiello, director of the Orangetown Building Department, proposed points of access and egress are still under discussion with the planning board because of safety and congestion concerns. But roughly, cars will enter from northbound Route 303 via a right turn, or from westbound Oak Tree Road via a left turn. Cars exit via a right turn only onto Route 303 northbound, or by a left or right turn onto Oak Tree Road.
Some residents fear the intersection, specifically the portion of Oak Tree Road abutting the proposed site, can’t accommodate the kind of traffic a corner pharmacy will generate. At peak commuting hours, cars wait for the light to turn onto Route 303 by queuing up on Oak Tree Road. At the same time, a steady flow of cars from eastbound Oak Tree Road is turning left onto Lexington Avenue – a common short cut to Washington Street. Turning cars have to wait for an opening in the queue to make the left. Additionally, cars are turning right onto Oak Tree from northbound 303, adding to the easterly flow on Oak Tree.
With the proposed access from 303 limited, most customers will use the Oak Tree entrance and exit. That entrance and exit is next to a bus stop for the 97 Transport of Rockland (TOR) bus and directly opposite the entrance to Lexington Avenue.
In May, a Lexington Avenue resident wrote to the Orangetown Zoning Board expressing concern about allowing Walgreens to proceed. “We on Lexington Avenue have an already dangerous condition due to vehicle traffic,” he writes, “and this increases traffic adding to the problem.” The planning board has requested a second, more detailed study from Maser and hired an engineer with the firm, John Collins, to interpret and explain results to the board and to the public.
Nevertheless, some think the potential traffic problems are obvious even without a study. Palisades resident Eileen Larkin says, “Nobody is against Walgreens coming into the area, but that particular spot is not appropriate based on safety, hours and quality of life.” With over 7000 stores across the US, Walgreens has a tradition of choosing freestanding corner locations. They are highly visible and jibe with the company’s ad line “At the corner of happy and healthy.” The proposed location would offer direct competition to a nearby CVS, Walgreens’ main competitor.
The Walgreens proposal is up for discussion at the planning board’s next meeting on December 10 at 7:30pm at 20 Greenbush Road. The public is welcome to attend and comment. An electronic copy of the new traffic study should be available approximately a week before the meeting.