Ferguson Township residents push for more than ‘bare minimums’ in Wawa development

Plans for a Wawa in Ferguson Township were conditionally approved by the township’s planning commission Monday night, while some residents of a nearby neighborhood remain concerned about several aspects of the project.

Plans for the 5,330-square-foot Wawa, which would be located at 169 W. Aaron Drive in the lot where a Sutliff Buick GMC Cadillac dealership and Delaney Collision Center was previously located, include six fueling stations for 12 vehicles, a canopy over the stations, underground fuel tanks, an air station, a trash corral and 60 parking spots.

The original plans also included two entry points — one on Bergman Boulevard and another on West Aaron Drive — but a final right-turn-in/right-turn-out entrance was also added along North Atherton Street following deliberations late last month. The entrance was unanimously approved by the planning commission Monday, though it comes with the contingency that discussions be reopened with the developer about other possible changes to the plans.

A right-turn lane from West Aaron Drive onto North Atherton and a raised median on North Atherton to prevent people from turning left into or out of the site were also added with the entry point.

Though Wawa engineers are adamant that the additions will reduce on-site congestion, residents of the nearby Overlook Heights neighborhood, which West Aaron Drive leads directly into, aren’t convinced. A petition with 116 signatures from the neighborhood’s residents, asking the planning commission to better address their concerns, was submitted to the township Monday.

“[Residents of Overlook Heights] feel strongly that there is no reason this way of life and standard of living should be negatively impacted by the allowance of any minimally-mitigated adjacent development — I say minimally-mitigated because every land development plan has certain bare minimum standards it must meet by township regulations,” resident Rob Venema told the planning commission Monday.

He continued, “What we are asking you, as the planning commission, to do is to look beyond those bare minimums when taking the safety and well-being of the Overlook Heights’ residents and taxpayers into account, and to include additional stipulations for Wawa and the developers to be able to use this site to conduct their business.“

The main concern that Venema said the commission needs to address is the potential for excess traffic into his neighborhood, which he said is mainly composed of families with young children and the elderly.

Opening up Bergman Boulevard as an entry point would create a shortcut from Vairo Boulevard to Atherton for drivers looking avoid traffic lights, Venedma told the commission.

Combining that with the possibility that Wawa’s visitors may turn left on West Aaron Drive into Overlook Heights to avoid another traffic signal, Venema said that the most logical solution would be a choke point on the drive in the form of a barrier, which would prevent a left turn into the neighborhood.

“The preferable solution would be a passable barricade or gate, accessible by residents’, emergency and municipal vehicles — something that’s commonplace in many other communities,” Venema said.

Commission members discussed a number of possible solutions, such as a barricade, changes to the timing of the traffic light at the intersection of West Aaron Drive and North Atherton Street, the possibility of turning the drive into a one-way so that drivers legally couldn’t turn onto it, and a change in the layout of turning lanes on West Aaron Drive at the same intersection.

But it was determined that adding additional safety measures to West Aaron Drive would be the responsibility of the township, not the developer, and is not a part of the plan approval process. That means that any other safety measures on the drive would likely have to be done separately from the gas station’s development.

Resident Bridget O’Meara said that Wawa should have to build an on-site sound and light wall between the gas station and the neighborhood to mitigate additional noise, although PennTerra engineer Tony Fructl said the construction of a full wall would be unlikely.

One planning commission member offered an alternative.

“One of my concerns about constructing a wall anywhere as a barrier between properties is that you’ve always got that issue of ‘how high is high enough?’” commission member Bill Keough said. “One of the reasons for looking at vegetation as a buffer barrier, rather than a wall, is that vegetation can naturally grow to significant heights without having any complications. ... There are vegetations that can deal with the heights that would be very acceptable for light and or for reasonable noise suppression.”

Four more residents took to the mic to air their frustrations with the development, sharing concerns about possible “dangerous” increases in traffic at the intersection, increased risks for pedestrians and further concerns about the Bergman Road shortcut.

The commission requested that Fructl and his fellow project engineers reconvene discussions with the township’s staff about any possible “above and beyond” additions to the site that Wawa would be willing to include in their plans to help address resident concerns.

The commission’s request was made in the form of a condition on a unanimously-approved motion, which will see the development plans be passed onto the township supervisors for review — as long as the developer and township staff meet once more to discuss possible extra additions to the site.

As laid out by Keough, the five issues that should be addressed during the discussions include a barricade on West Aaron Drive, turning the drive into a one-way street, a wall or vegetative barrier between the neighborhood and Wawa, the timing of the traffic signal at the intersection of West Aaron Drive and North Atherton and the possible mitigation of traffic on Bergman Boulevard.

Moving forward, the updated plans will be reviewed at a future township supervisors meeting, which typically takes place on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Agendas can be found at the township’s agenda and minutes portal.