Residents say a proposed nursing home on Silverside Road could pose traffic issues.
The design of the 131-bed facility, being built by Cadia Healthcare, was unveiled at a July 29 workshop at the adjacent North Baptist Church.
The facility would share a parking lot with the church, adding 144 spaces to the 20 now available at North Baptist.
Although law requires only one parking space for every three beds, Land Use Attorney Kimberly Hoffman said Cadia would go far beyond that, anticipating residents concerns over where staff and visitors would park.
The facility is expected to employ as many as 175 workers over the course of a day, but Hoffman said their arrivals and departures would be staggered throughout the day.
"In other words, 7 [a.m.] is kind of right in the beginning, 3 [p.m.] is before the worst [rush hour traffic] starts, and you know there's not that many people on the road before 11 p.m," she said.
Colonial Woods resident Dr. Yvette Gbemudu said she hoped traffic from facility would not feed into the neighborhood street on which she lives.
Hoffman said Cadia had no intentions of allowing access to the nursing home through Colonial Woods, but said transportation officials are advocating for the construction of an emergency entrance there that would only be used by emergency vehicles.
"We're on your side, because we don't want this,” Hoffman said. “And as long as Councilman [Robert] Weiner is on our side, with the Department of Land Use, we will do everything that we can do.”
She said such an entrance would only be constructed if it were required for “health, safety and welfare” reasons.
Another attendee asked if the proposed facility would require a new traffic light on Silverside Road. Hoffman said it would not.
