Burlington Planning Board orders traffic peer review for Wilmington Road plaza expansion

BURLINGTON — June 18, 2026 — Burlington Planning Board orders traffic peer review for contested Wilmington Road plaza and advances Chick-fil-A hearing. The board voted 6-0 at its June 18 meeting to commission an independent peer review of the traffic impact study for the proposed 13,900-square-foot expansion of the plaza at 85 Wilmington Road, where applicants Lalit Gandhi and Usha Gandhi are represented by attorney Brian McGrail. Traffic engineer Scott Thornton of Vanessa and Associates told the board the project would push the Prouty Road and Wilmington Road intersection from level-of-service E to level-of-service F — an average delay increase from 43.6 to 56.7 seconds — during the weekday evening peak hour; the board did not consider that acceptable. Prouty Road residents testified that cut-through volumes have roughly doubled since Cambridge Street lane reductions, with one resident citing a police study recording 20,000 vehicles per week on the road. In a separate 6-0 vote, the board continued the Chick-fil-A application at 2 Wall Street — filed by CrossPoint Associates and seeking two special permits and site plan approval for a 4,800-square-foot restaurant with a two-lane drive-through — asking the applicant to return in July with drive-through throughput projections, a post-opening review framework, and resolution of fire department access and pedestrian safety concerns along Cambridge Street. Both applications return July 16.