Two hardware giants, hoping to open stores in Warwick and Cranston, are finding that residents in both cases are resisting the developments because they fear they will disrupt their quality of life.
In both cases, the developments are in already heavily congested and traveled areas — one on Sackanosset Cross Road in Cranston, the road that runs by the entrance to Garden City, and the other on the site of the former Warwick Musical Tent off Route 2 in Warwick.
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In the case of the Cranston project, a proposal by Home Depot, residents’ objections to increased traffic convinced the city council to reject the proposal. The council’s Ordinance Committee voted unanimously to deny developer Carpionato Properties’ request for a waiver of a requirement to wait two years before resubmitting the proposal for reconsideration. The project was first rejected by the city council in March 2000.
In Warwick, changes in plans by Lowe’s Home Improvement have residents concerned.
Carpionato Properties’ Senior Vice President Kelly Coates said he was surprised by the council’s decision, but he understands.
“We certainly would not have gone in with this if we had not received assurance from elected officials,” he said. “We just wouldn’t have put the residents or city officials through that if they had not encouraged us.”
Coates said the residents don’t understand that traffic would not be as much of a problem as they think it will.
“The thing they don’t realize is the magnitude of the traffic improvement,” he said, pointing to the fact that the road is currently striped as two lines, and under Carpionato’s proposal it would have up to seven lanes.
“Route 2 is four lanes, and it’s going up to seven,” he said. “You can get to South County faster than you could 30 years ago, and traffic there has gone up five-fold, but you can get there faster and the same thing will happen with Sockanosset.”
State Sen. Aram Garabedian (D-Cranston) disagreed.
“One thing he doesn’t realize is that our quality of life is very important to us, and the changing of the road and opening new driveways suits his purpose, but not our purpose,” he said. “Everybody has a right to develop their property, but they have to be aware of the impact on other people.”
Garabedian, who is also on the board of the Cranston Citizens for Responsible Zoning Development, said his group has supported Carpionato’s proposals in the past, they just don’t always support his philosophy.
“Some developers have to learn at some point that they can’t have everything they want,” he said.
Another developer having difficulty getting everything it wants is Leach Properties. The developer’s proposed Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse is having similar difficulty in satisfying residents’ request for its Warwick location.
Bill Facente, director of economic development for the City of Warwick, said a recent citizens appeal is just another roadblock in the saga of a long, drawn-out process, and that he is still interested in seeing the project go forward.
“Everybody knows that competition is good in a free market system,” he said. “It drives down prices and ensures better quality, as Lowe’s coming to Warwick will draw directly from Home Depot’s customer base.”
The Lowe’s site is the former location of the Warwick Musical Theatre.
Councilman Steve Merolla, who represents Ward 9 in Warwick, said this is slightly different from the Home Depot issue in Cranston.
“This issue with regard to Lowe’s has nothing to do with whether people want or don’t want Lowe’s,” he said. “They amended their plan and asked for access to Cowesett Road, and two drainage ponds.”
“Now that they’ve changed their plan, the residents are thinking about problems getting in an out of their driveways,” he said. “It’s really about quality of life for the neighbors.”
Facente said he doesn’t see the possibility of increase in traffic from Lowe’s.
“I don’t see an increase necessarily from Lowe’s other than residents using that road to access Lowe’s,” he said, indicating that non-area customers would not use the road.
“If you know a cut-through you’re going to use that cut through no matter what,” he said, “if you don’t know an area, you’re not going to go down that road. Many people are using that road daily anyway.”
As far as the drainage ponds go, Facente said it is the developer’s choice.
“They donated the open space out of good faith,” he said. “It’s still open space, it’s just not land.”
Merolla disagreed with that notion; saying residents are concerned about the effects these ponds may have, such as West Nile Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (triple E virus).
“If Lowe’s had stuck to their initial agreement this wouldn’t have been an issue,” he said.
