Traffic study investigates 23 city intersections ahead of State School development

LACONIA — A traffic study, completed during Pillsbury Realty Development’s due diligence phase ahead of their proposed purchase of the former State School property, includes a recommendation for a traffic circle on Parade Road near Old North Main Street.

The draft report, which shows the study of 23 intersections, will be adjusted in conjunction with city and state leaders, as Pillsbury grinds ever forward in their endeavor to transform the State School property into a “live-work-play” development.

The study reviews traffic conditions and historical crash data from both city and state roads and intersections, paying particular attention to how the anticipated 2,000-plus-unit Laconia Village development would impact travel in the city.

Prepared by TFMoran on behalf of Pillsbury Realty Development and submitted to the City of Laconia and New Hampshire Department of Transportation District 3, the draft study is exhaustive, numbering in the thousands of pages of text, data and figures.

The concept of Laconia Village was born in September 2024, when the Executive Council agreed to accept Pillsbury’s offer to purchase the state-owned 217-acre parcel — the former Laconia State School property — for $10.5 million. The offer was conditional: the developer would first secure the permits and approvals required to execute its plan. 

The plan calls for a mixed-use development with more than 2,000 units of housing on Right Way Path and is expected to achieve full build-out by 2037. The study report proposes traffic mitigation measures for the development, which is expected to be constructed in three phases.

Though the developers presented an overall master plan to the city's Planning Board earlier this year, they’ll create site plans for each phase individually. A new traffic study will be prepared for each site plan application, according to the draft, and those studies would evaluate required mitigation efforts based on the individual and cumulative impacts of that particular phase. 

If their entire master plan is constructed as presented, Laconia Village will include: a 125-room hotel; a 75,000-square-foot recreational facility; a 100,000-square-foot office facility; 2,050 residential units across multifamily, independent elderly, townhouse and single-family formats; 120,000 square feet of in-line retail space; and 75,000 square feet of civic space, perhaps home to a library or city offices.

The traffic study determined that, for the 23 intersections examined, peak traffic hours on weekdays occur between 7 and 9 a.m., and 3 and 6 p.m. On weekends, peak hours occur on Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

At Intersection #3 — Parade Road, Right Way Path and Old North Main Street — the recommendation of the study is for a roundabout to facilitate increased traffic, noting turning volumes, the need to accommodate Ahern Park Road near its current position and the need to separate Ahern Park traffic into the residential and commercial site roadways.

It’s recommended the roundabout contain two center circulation lanes, and northbound and southbound approaches should have two lanes of entrance and exit, according to the study. 

“There should be an exclusive southbound right lane to direct Laconia Village traffic into the site without entering the roundabout,” the study reads, in part.

In other locations of the city, where, for example, roads are city-owned streets, the study identifies potential issues, and provides mitigation measures as recommendations.

At the intersection of North Main and Oak streets, for example, the study recommends adjusting light signal phasing, optimizing signal timing there, consider an additional right of way to add through lanes on North Main, and consider installing a real-time signal monitoring system to allow timing adjustments as needed. 

“Weekday AM and PM peak hour traffic is already over-capacity in no-build conditions,” the study reads. “Saturday traffic is acceptable in build condition. The great majority of project-related traffic at the intersection consists of through-traffic on Main Street, along with some turns to/from Oak Street by Laconia residents working or shopping at the project site.”