MANCHESTER, NH — On April 18 the city will lower the boom on Gold Street in an effort to preserve, to some degree, the quiet neighborhood that is now host to a Wal-Mart Superstore.
But Ward 9 Alderman Barbara Shaw has been fielding complaints in advance of the store’s grand opening on April 20. She has already planned a neighborhood meeting for April 11 at 7 p.m. for those who live in the Beech Hill apartment complex. They are concerned about the new traffic patterns on Gold Street, and how it may change their quality of life.
They also worry about interlopers armed with maps and apps, who they figure will quickly find the back roads to Wal-Mart by circumventing South Willow Street.
Shaw is frustrated. She has fought to protect her turf from what feels like an invasion. But the wheels for Wal-Mart were in motion long before she ran for office, and now all she can do is mitigate.
“Nobody takes into consideration the residents are the ones getting screwed,” says Shaw, responding to word earlier this week that radio station WOKQ actually posted a short-cut map online.
Shaw says the next few months will require patience on the part of residents. Traffic reports are in the works, and lights on South Willow are supposed to be synchronized between Harvey and Weston Roads, to move traffic away from the neighborhood.
“For now we will have to live with it, but starting in August or September we’ll at least be able to talk with them about changes, once we see how it goes and analyze the traffic reports. Right now, neither side will talk because nobody wants more lawsuits,” says Shaw. Between protests from the neighbors and then a legal challenge from Hannaford supermarket, Wal-Mart’s grand opening has been years in the making, she says.
Since the original plans were hatched, a new apartment complex was added on Bradley Street, and there’s been a huge turnover of residents — many who had no idea Wal-Mart was waiting in the wings to swoop into the neighborhood when they moved there, says Shaw.
“I’m meeting Monday with the Beech Hill residents — they’d mostly like to know the history of the project, and what’s in store for the future,” says Shaw. Unfortunately, there’s nothing that can be done about gate on Gold Street now. Buses will be able to go through with a swipe card, and emergency vehicles, but no private vehicles.”
Change has become the norm, says Shaw.
“This was for a long time a quiet neighborhood. I’m 74, and I moved here when I was 8 years old. When I was a kid, you went up South Beech to Gold, took a left, it was a cul-de-sac, and there was one house,” says Shaw.
“My dad and I would stand on the hill there and look to the south, Grenier Field was there, and we’d watch B-29s and B-17s coming back from WWII for maintenance. Then, we’d take our bikes down this long path to the place where Wal-Mart is now,” Shaw says. “Gold Street was a dirt road. It was never intended to be a street. But after cars went up and down they eventually widened it enough to be a street.”
As Manchester continues to grow and change, Shaw says it’s important to keep quality of life for residents in mind.
“What this Wal-Mart project has done is taught us not to rush decisions. You hear it during meetings, when a fast-tracked item comes up and an alderman will put the brakes on. It’s because of situations like this,” Shaw says. “There’s nothing more we can do, except try to adjust. I’m just trying to make this devastating transition as smooth as possible.”
For more information about the April 11 meeting, contact Alderman Shaw at 603-626-4681 or via email at beshaw3@comcast.net.
⇒Flashback Friday: Just for fun, you can read through this Walmart public hearing on rezoning in 2009.
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