Waltham Board Approves Costco Driveway Widening and Traffic Signal on Second Avenue

WALTHAM -- February 11, 2026, Waltham's Board of Survey and Planning approved a special permit for Costco to widen its 71 Second Avenue driveway by 10 feet and install a new traffic signal, voting 5-1 over an abutting property owner's objection. Attorney Kelsey Westrich, representing the owners of 8 Second Avenue, told the board the proposed signal placement would make left turns "virtually impossible" out of the northernmost Floor and Decor exit, and asked for a continuance; the board declined, with member Justin Barrett noting that both the Traffic Commission and city traffic engineer Michael Garvin had already approved the design. The board also unanimously approved a long-pending special permit for Colbia Enterprises at 962 Main Street, where the Waltham Engineering Department waived on-site drainage requirements because stormwater infiltration would conflict with ongoing environmental remediation. Three proposed Housing Choice Districts, Jones Road, Bay Colony, and 1265 Main Street, were withdrawn without prejudice after their owners requested direct eligibility opinions from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. An approval-not-required subdivision plan for 564 Main Street, creating a non-buildable sliver lot to resolve a surveyed encroachment by a building at 18 Elm Street, was approved unanimously.