Updated Safeway Plans Met With Cautious Optimism Thursday Night

Safeway presented three new plans to Albany officials and residents Thursday night to respond to concerns about parking and traffic around its proposed grocery store expansion efforts on Solano Avenue.

Store officials will offer a similar presentation Tuesday night before the Planning & Zoning Commission.

Many residents said the plans, or at least one of them, seemed to be a marked improvement from former concepts offered for consideration.

Planning & Zoning asked Safeway in June to go before the Traffic & Safety Commission with ideas that would address how to limit the negative impact neighbors would suffer as a result of a new layout and much larger store. 

Since 2005, Safeway has been asking Albany officials for approval to demolish its Solano store to build a 52,300-square-foot structure – more than twice the size of the current one. In the past five years, Safeway met with immediate neighbors of the store, held three community-wide meeting and had three study sessions with the city to discuss the plan.

Architect Philip D'Agostino, who works for the San Francisco firm Safeway has hired to help put together the project, presented three possible options Thursday night before the Traffic & Safety Commission.

Each plan offered slightly different configurations for where to place an unloading area for trucks as well as vehicle entrances and exits  for the new store.

The plans all included at least one route into and out of Safeway from both Curtis and Neilson streets. The plan that met with the warmest response had delivery trucks approaching Safeway westbound on Solano, turning left onto Neilson, and making a quick right into a loading zone area.

This plan would allow trucks to enter the property without having to pull out onto Solano to position themselves for unloading. Afterward, trucks would then likely turn left onto Solano to head to their next destination.

The shop sees three to four "big rig" delivery trucks each day; with a larger store, it could see up to five. This is in addition to smaller delivery trucks and beverage distributors. Safeway representative Todd Paradis said visits could become less frequent because there will be more storage space built into the new market.

The business intends to continue staying open 24 hours each day, officials said.

D'Agostino suggested that one way to limit the impact to surrounding neighborhoods would be to build barriers on Neilson or Curtis, or both, to stop shoppers from using those streets to get to the market.

The barriers met with mixed reviews from residents and commissioners alike.

An idea by John Ciccarelli, to require only right turns into the parking garage from Neilson, and only right turns out of the garage onto Curtis, met with seemingly unanimous approval. Ciccarelli consulted on the Buchanan Path and the proposed University Village Whole Foods, and reviewed another firm's design for the Pierce Street path.

Some people said it made more sense to include a main entrance for cars on Solano, rather than shifting traffic onto residential streets. The current property includes four entry points to the parking lot: two on Solano and one each on Curtis and Nielson. None of the proposed plans included more than three.

Some neighbors expressed support for traffic calming measures such as speed humps on Curtis and Nielson.

The new plans took into consideration requests to pay more attention to pedestrian access and bicycle parking, though those details have yet to be laid out in full detail.

Amy Smolens of Albany Strollers & Rollers said the plans, which could include street parking for bikes as well as a special ramp into the garage and an expanded garage bike parking area, were a definite improvement.

D'Agostino said the intent of the presentation was to address parking and circulation concerns expressed by city planners.

The new plans included several green spaces and outdoor dining areas, including a greenway all along the property's southern boundary. 

Many neighbors said they were concerned about safety in the greenway area, adding that they wouldn't want youth or undesirables hanging out in the space causing problems.

Many people still posed questions about parking for the new store, pointing out that Safeway hopes to double in size but isn't doubling parking spaces. Thursday night's plans provided for 115 to 128 parking spots, depending on the configuration. It currently has 79.

In the latest plan, the current single-story building will gain a floor and an underground parking garage. The store would expand to cover the current parking lot, which faces Solano. 

Albany planning and building manager Jeff Bond said it could take several more months to agree on different aspects of the plans, which are before several city commissions and committees. After that, the construction proposal will also face an environmental review, which can take nine months or more.

Tuesday's Planning & Zoning Commission meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.