Police brace for IKEA traffic

For months, state and local officials have been preparing for the traffic expected at the grand opening of the first IKEA store in Massachusetts.

Police details will be assigned to almost every corner along the main roads to the store. A fire engine and ambulance will stand by at the store. IKEA has hired its own traffic and security personnel.

But no one really knows what will happen when the doors swing open Wednesday morning at the wildly popular Scandinavian furniture outlet.

''Everything possible is being done to alleviate problems, but . . . this has never happened here before," said Avon's police chief, Warren Phillips.

The 25,000 to 30,000 people expected to visit IKEA daily during the store's five-day grand opening will roughly double his town's population, said Stoughton's fire chief, David M. Jardin.

''The only thing I can compare it to is a Super Bowl," said Jardin. ''Except that it lasts five days."

IKEA openings elsewhere have produced problems. In February, people were injured amid a crush of shoppers trying to get into a new store in London. Last year, three people were killed in a stampede at a new IKEA in Saudi Arabia. In the United States, gridlock occurred at openings in Arizona and California.

On the other hand, recent IKEA openings in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Paramus, N.J., and Palo Alto, Calif., have gone smoothly, according to news accounts.

Most visitors will arrive at the new Stoughton store from Route 24, taking either Exit 20 at the Stoughton/Randolph line or Exit 19 in Avon. A new connector road, called IKEA Way, links Turnpike Street in Stoughton to the store for customers using Exit 20.

Drivers coming from the Avon side will exit Route 24 and turn right at the first light onto Stockwell Drive, then make their way through a large and already crowded shopping complex that includes a Christmas Tree Shops store, Jordan's Furniture, and Costco.

Public safety officials say they expect traffic to back up onto Route 24, affecting the travel lanes on the busy north-south thoroughfare. ''It's going to happen," said Jardin. ''It's going to affect 24."

Phillips said, ''I'm sure the surrounding communities -- Randolph and Brockton especially -- are going to feel the impact of the traffic."

State Police will be monitoring and directing traffic on Route 24 and its ramps, according to Lieutenant Sharon Costine.

''People going to work on Wednesday might want to leave a little earlier," she said.

IKEA officials voiced confidence that the opening will go smoothly. ''We certainly expect to be very busy, not only on opening day but throughout the weekend," said company spokesman Joseph Roth.

The new connector road, plus a rotary at the Stockwell Drive side of the store, are designed to keep traffic moving, according to Roth.

The Brockton Area Transit service will run buses to the store, which has about 1,300 parking spaces. Over the weekend, IKEA will sponsor a free shuttle bus from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Quincy Adams station.

Roth said the store does have a delivery service. While stressing that public transportation is an efficient option for IKEA shoppers, Roth acknowledged that most customers would come by car.

Officials from IKEA and the Stoughton and Avon police and fire departments, as well as the State Police, have been meeting weekly to go over plans. They also plan to meet Thursday morning to assess how the first day went and make adjustments.

Avon officers will be stationed along Stockwell Drive to make sure patrons of other stores can get in and out.

Local officials praised IKEA for its cooperation, and for paying for the special police and fire details. ''Their primary concern," said Jardin, ''is safety."