In response to complaints, Rochester Planning Board members pushed for changes on road construction at the Connet Woods subdivision.

Board members halted the paving of a traffic circle after it was determined the town’s largest fire truck would not be able to navigate the turn easily during an emergency. To address that, the traffic circle’s radius will be expanded from 30 feet to 60 feet. “It’s more of a design issue than a constructability issue,” said Chair Arnie Johnson at the board's Oct. 24 meeting. Also, there appears to have been a communication breakdown between the board and the developer in the past few months.

“It seems the supervision has been lax at the site,” Johnson said. Following the complaint, he noted developers of the 566-acre property responded to the criticism. Since then, Johnson said he is “pleased with the way things are progressing.”

The state Department of Environmental protection approved the project in 2009. A total of 115 building lots are on a 150-acre parcel of the property. The traffic circle construction is phase two of a five-phase process to build-out the site. The second phase includes construction off High Street and begins at Forbes Swamp Road.