BY NICOLE ROSENTHAL
The design and placement of a designated curbside pickup area at Soundview Marketplace’s Target store was the main topic of conversation at the virtual Port Washington North Board of Trustees meeting last Wednesday.
The initiative is set to convert eight traditional parking spaces into six pickup spots, as well as the addition of signs to mark the new spots. Customers will be able to order through the Target mobile app and drive to the designated location, where a Target employee will hand off their goods.
Although the board and project managers from Target’s development group, Kimley-Horn, did not reach an immediate agreement on specifics of designated curbside signs, several trustees seemed to be in agreement over the need for a contactless pickup method in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s fewer of us going into stores versus wanting to pick up,” said Trustee Steven Cohen. “If it’s a temporary thing, I think the board … is more amenable.”
Target is far from the only store eyeing contactless delivery methods, according to building inspector Robert Barbach. In fact, approximately two years ago, the board approved several spots at a Stop & Shop for curbside pickup.
Barbach said that the 65 Shore Road location also recently received a building permit for “a half a million dollars worth of work,” in part to build out its southern entrance and “create an internal facility for servicing this pickup concept.”
Safety issues for pedestrians were also raised during the virtual meeting, as Trustee Matthew Kepke expressed concerns over adding the new curbside component to an already busy shopping center.
“There are kids flying through there on bikes, a lot of people walking through there … to get in and then get out in the area, that doesn’t seem to provide for that.”
Mayor Robert Weitzner expressed concern over the red decorative balls in front of the store – a hallmark of Target stores across the country – which have led children to congregate and skateboard in the vicinity.
“That area is just a dangerous area to propose getting in and out and having your people going back and across that entrance delivering goods,” said the mayor.
Yet, according to one Kimley-Horn engineer, the high-volume traffic typical of the Soundview Marketplace may be alleviated by the new curbside initiative, which is said to complete orders in about two minutes.
“If people choose to shop online and use this service, it actually reduces the pressure on parking overall,” said senior engineer Aaron Heustess of Kimley-Horn.
Despite suggestions from the board to relocate the designated pickup spot to less-frequented entrances, the representative said that a pickup spot directly in front of the building would be “easier to find” and “far safer for team members that are walking stuff out.”
Heustess suggested that the board invite a Kimley-Horn representative to survey the parking lot and draft alternative suggestions for the curbside pickup space, an idea the board seemed to agree on.
It was ultimately decided that the board will not conduct a public hearing and will instead come to a resolution on the matter at a later date.
“We would like to get it open quickly, but at the end of the day we would want to do it right,” Heustess said of the curbside pickup initiative. “Something that works for us, something that works for you and something that works for the community.”
