The intersection nearest the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter at Miles Field has seen a 22 percent increase in traffic since the last comprehensive study was done, a review of traffic counts shows.

Highway 99 and Stewart Avenue saw 32,950 vehicles per day in 1992. By 2004, that number increased to 40,300 vehicles per day.

Wal-Mart is expected to add a total of 8,755 vehicles per day to the area, many of which will rely on that intersection.

A citizens group says the already overloaded intersection should have prompted the city to require Wal-Mart to conduct a traffic study before the site plan was approved.

"Three years from now when that thing’s built, people are going to be hostile when they’re sitting in traffic," said Christine Lachner, member of Medford Citizens for Responsible Development. "Taxpayers are going to be stuck."

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The last comprehensive study was conducted by the South Gateway Center Partners, owners of property in the area, in 1991 during a zone change.

City staff does not deny that street upgrades will be needed around the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

"I know of a couple street improvements that are going to have to be made whether or not Wal-Mart opens," said Cory Crebbin, public works director, adding that the store’s opening might make street deficiencies more obvious.

He said traffic patterns and timing will be affected with the addition of thousands of shoppers every day.

But city officials say current traffic loads are not a factor as far as determining when an extensive traffic study is done, even for a retail store the size of 3½ football fields.

"Under Medford’s codes there’s no requirement that they do a ‘facility adequacy analysis’ for traffic," said Crebbin. "We did require a study for the accesses and the intersections where we had safety concerns."

South Gateway developer Bob Kaczor has said if a traffic study shows the current system will fail, then Wal-Mart — not taxpayers — would have to pay for the improvements.

Last week, Medford’s Site Plan and Architectural Commission stuck by an earlier decision not to require Wal-Mart to do a comprehensive traffic study before building a 205,693-square-foot Supercenter. The decision was the latest of several meetings and hearings about the project, which the site plan commission approved but the City Council rejected in 2004. Wal-Mart appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, which returned the issue to the council, which sent it back to the commission.

The site, architectural and landscape portion of a revised Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal was approved by the commission in February.

The final order approving the revised plan will come before the site plan commission March 17.

The citizens group has vowed it will appeal the decision.

City engineers point out that Wal-Mart will pay street system development charges amounting to about $1 million. The fees go to pay for streets, bike lanes, curbs and sidewalks in Medford.

"Our street system development charges are considered your mitigation for your traffic impacts," Crebbin said. "That’s how people mitigate impacts. There is no such thing as a zero-impact development."

But the citizens group says Wal-Mart needs to do its part before the streets are gridlocked.

"I don’t know what the city’s thinking," said Lachner.

"I don’t understand why you don’t do the roads first."

She said she understands that city staff members are following the codes.

"Let’s change the codes," she said. "Let’s change them now before we’re stuck with heaven-only-knows-what."

Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com.