Farmers Market Traffic Plan Told

The company that owns Farmers Market expects to pay about $20 million in an effort to mitigate the impact on traffic of a new shopping center, hotel, office tower and movie theater at its 31-acre site in the Fairfax District.

Plans call for the Gilmore Co. to keep the decades-old food stands but to tear down other shops to make way for 2 million square feet of new development.

According to a statement released Wednesday, the eve of the publication of a draft environmental impact report, the firm expects to pay for installation of computerized traffic signals, a new northbound lane for traffic on Fairfax Avenue, widening of 3rd Street, blocking of access to two side streets and funding for traffic officers during rush hours.

The project must be endorsed by several levels of city government.