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 Three proposed Housing Choice Districts — Jones Road, Bay Colony, and 1265 Main Street — were withdrawn without prejudice after their owners requested direct eligibility opinions from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.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.