Activists ask for jobs commitment and improved traffic patterns

By George P. Hassett

Local activists urged Swedish furniture retailer IKEA to guarantee jobs for city residents and improve traffic patterns for their Assembly Square store at a public hearing Sept. 4.

Assembly Square developers Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) applied for permits last Tuesday to begin construction on a new IKEA and an accompanying roadway in Assembly Square, described by IKEA officials as “the backbone of the entire development.”

The development at Assembly Square will bring in $15 million in new taxes for the city and provide 14,000 new jobs when fully built out, according to FRIT Vice President of Northeast Development Bob Walsh.

The first phase of the build out is a new IKEA. The planning board will decide to issue permits in the next 60 days and construction will then begin within a few months, said Wig Zamore of the Mystic View Task Force (MVTF).

At the Sept. 4 hearing MVTF members said IKEA’s traffic plans for the site were overly optimistic. And with just one lane in the upcoming Assembly Square Drive, traffic to and from the store could choke surrounding small businesses in East Somerville, they said.

“What happens if there is so much traffic [from IKEA] that people avoid the entire area on Saturdays? What happens to the city’s tax base then? Will the city be paralyzed? Will the existing merchants be victims of this traffic?” said Don Stiehl.

Patrick Dunford, the traffic engineer who conducted the IKEA study, said the store will generate traffic during the weekend. He said that was a benefit because it would not add to the burden of the normal commuting flow on weekdays.

However, Ellen Reisner, of East Somerville said the weekends are one of the few times when her neighborhood is given a reprieve from constant traffic jams and gridlock.

“Weekends are our only relief from air pollution in our neighborhood,” she said. “As it is now, we can’t open our windows facing Route 93 or spend too much time outside.”

East Somerville Main Streets Executive Director Carrie Dancey also expressed concern that traffic from IKEA could hurt small businesses on nearby lower Broadway.

"We’re trying to encourage pedestrian shopping, but we can’t do that if there are huge traffic back ups and congestion,” she said.

At the meeting, neighborhood activists also asked the planning board to require IKEA to give preference to Somerville residents when hiring for the new store.

‚ÄúI know we can find employees in Somerville who share IKEA‚Äôs values. We would like to see folks in East Somerville walking to their new jobs at IKEA when IKEA opens,‚Äù he said.