Milford Federal Bank wants new branch office at former restaurant site

MILFORD — Milford Federal Bank is seeking to replace its branch office at 91-2 Medway Road with a new and more modern facility up the street, at the site of the former Richard's Roadhouse restaurant.

The new bank branch, at 67 Medway Road (Route 109), will include nearly 4,000 square feet of office space and feature 18 parking spaces and two electronic bank teller lanes, bank officials said during a public hearing Tuesday that was part of a Planning Board meeting.

“It’s become apparent that the existing branch at Medway (Road) lacked much-needed space,” said Karen Kindle, Milford Federal's senior vice president of consumer banking, during the hearing.

Kindle said the bank has collaborated with engineers and has done traffic studies to design a building with a more modern feel and which would blend in with the residential surroundings.

Plans include six pedestrian-level lamp posts with low lighting in consideration of nearby residential neighborhoods, project manager Michael Dryden said.

Two-way traffic will be able to enter and exit on Birch Street, but motorists coming from Medway Road will be allowed only to make a right turns to enter and exit the bank site, according to the plans.

Planning Board members debated how necessary flex sticks (reboundable traffic posts) were to control traffic flow.

“It’s foolish to not have flex sticks,” board member Patrick Kennelly said, adding that he was worried about traffic blocking the road. The posts would encourage proper behavior when turning into and exiting the site, he said.

Another board member, Marble Mainini, didn’t think they were necessary.

The bank plans to install one-way signs and speed bumps to help control traffic flow, plans state.

Dryden said the site is shaped in such a way that it would discourage vehicles traveling westbound on Medway Road to attempt to make a left turn, Dryden said. He said the bank is open to a requirement of flex sticks as a condition for approval.

Kindle told the Daily News that more details on the new office will be revealed after the project wins approval.

Milford Federal, which is marking its 135th anniversary this year, is headquartered at 246 Main St. in downtown Milford. Besides Medway Road, it also has branch offices in Whitinsville and Woonsocket, Rhode Island. An office at Milford High School is temporarily closed, according to the bank's website.

The hearing on the new Medway Road office proposal was continued to July 12.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Milford Federal Bank proposes new branch office on Medway Road