PEABODY — The nation’s largest motor and travel club plans to file suit against the city in Superior Court for failure to allow a tow truck terminal just off Route 1 North.
On Thursday, the City Council unanimously rejected a proposal by AAA Northeast to turn the Lawrence Metal Forming Corp. property on Leland Lark Drive into a truck maintenance facility for 45 vehicles.
“We think our appeal will have some considerable validity,” said John Keilty, AAA’s Peabody attorney.
Ward 5 City Councilor Joel Saslaw said the addition of more trucks in an already congested part of the city will exacerbate traffic problems on Route 1 and in the neighborhood.
“It’s not appropriate,” he said.
City Councilor-at-Large Ryan Melville agreed and said he spoke to several residents who told him there are already backups on Route 1.
“I couldn’t come up with a good way to tell residents that this is a good idea,” he said.
John Nardolillo, AAA’s senior vice president for members services, said while the terminal would be home for tow trucks, the three shifts are staggered over 24 hours with between two and four operators at a time.
“The trucks will be on the road for the eight-hour shifts serving the 200,000 members north of Boston,” he said.
Under the terms of the deal, AAA would purchase the sheet metal shop and use the lot for its trucks.
Randy Good, the co-owner of the FedEx shipping facility across the street, said bringing more vehicles to Lakeland Park Drive where there are already 200 to 300 trucks, will be devastating.
Larry Olcott who lives on Forest Street said the neighborhood can’t handle more traffic.
“AAA provides a great service, but this is not the place for it in Peabody,” he said.
Keilty said it appears the councilors respected Saslaw’s wishes, whose district includes the property, and voted against the plan.
“But the judge might look at it from afar and say there’s lots of other truck operators who are there by right and AAA is asking for a special permit and they can’t get it?”
