LAWRENCE: Wawa store plans draw zoning board’s attention

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Traffic issues and testimony on the design and layout of the Wawa convenience store were the focus of the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s meeting last week, as it considered a proposal to redevelop a 16-acre parcel on Brunswick Pike at Bakers Basin Road currently occupied by Mrs. G’s TV & Appliances store.
   The Oct. 10 meeting was the fifth in a series of public hearings on the application, filed by 2012 Lawrenceville Associates LLC, which wants to demolish the existing buildings on the site and replace them with a TD Bank, a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, a Wawa convenience store and two retail buildings — one of which would contain Mrs. G’s TV & Appliances.
   Additional public hearings have been set for Oct. 29 and Nov. 7.
   The application is before the Zoning Board of Adjustment because the applicant needs a conditional use variance. Combined convenience stores and service stations — which is what Wawa is proposing — are not permitted in the Highway Commercial zone.
   Last week, Wawa project engineer Michael Redel walked the zoning board through his client’s plans. Wawa, which is a privately-held company, wants to build a 5,000-square-foot convenience store that would include fuel pumps. It is the fuel pumps that triggered the need for a conditional use variance.
   Wawa operates about 600 stores in six states, and half of them have fuel pumps, Mr. Redel said. While there would be 12 gasoline pumps, the plan also calls for four diesel fuel pumps for light trucks and cars that use diesel fuel, he said.
   Mr. Redel said steps would be taken to discourage tractor-trailer trucks from using the diesel fuel pumps. The diesel pumps, which would be located in a separate area from the gasoline pumps, have “slow-speed” nozzles, which take more time to fill up a car or light truck’s tank. Tractor-trailer drivers prefer faster flow nozzles.
   ”We are not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. We do not want to sell diesel fuel to tractor trailer trucks,” he said, adding that the site is not designed for “oversized” vehicles.
   Although Wawa typically operates its stores 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year long, the company would comply with Lawrence Township’s ordinance, which does not permit convenience stores to be open around the clock, he said.
   Mr. Redel explained that most deliveries to the store would occur three or four times per week, during off-peak hours, although some vendors might make more frequent deliveries. Fuel deliveries, however, would take place once or twice a day on an as-needed basis, he said.
   Peak hours for Wawa stores are 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.; 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The peak hour for fuel is in the afternoon “on the ride home,” he said, adding that the store is on the northbound lanes of Brunswick Pike, which is not the “ride home” side of the highway.
   The Wawa store would create up to 60 new jobs, Mr. Redel said. Most of the positions would be part-time. Each shift would have about 10 to 12 employees, including fuel pump attendants. State law does not permit self-serve gasoline stations.
   Engineer Charles Olivo, who represents the applicant, outlined traffic and site design issues, including the connector road that would replace the existing Bakers Basin Road jughandle at the intersection of Bakers Basin Road and Brunswick Pike. It would be built at the rear of the new development, and located about 350 feet south of the present jughandle.
   Mr. Olivo explained that Brunswick Pike is under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation; Bakers Basin Road is controlled by Lawrence Township; and that Franklin Corner Road is under the control of Mercer County. It is a “critical intersection,” he said.
   Bakers Basin Road would be widened to three lanes westbound and two lanes eastbound, effectively tripling the number of lanes for westbound cars waiting to turn at the road’s intersection with Brunswick Pike. He noted that traffic now backs up on Bakers Basin Road beyond the bridge over the Delaware & Raritan Canal as motorists wait for the traffic light to change.
   Franklin Corner Road would have three lanes eastbound, Mr. Olivo said. Once they cross Brunswick Pike onto Bakers Basin Road, cars traveling eastbound would be able to turn right onto the new connector road to reach businesses on Brunswick Pike northbound, such as the furniture store on Litho Road or the Ford and Mercedes-Benz new-car dealerships. Presently, motorists who want to visit those businesses must travel south on Brunswick Pike to a jughandle a few yards south of Darrah Lane.
   Mr. Olivo also pointed out that the improvements — including the new connector road that replaces the jughandle — would be paid for by the developer. Many improvement projects that have been on the books for years have not been built because the DOT lacks funding, he said.
   ”This would be on the dime of the developer,” Mr. Olivo said.
   James Kochenour, the zoning board’s traffic expert, offered a few comments before the meeting adjourned. He said the improvements that the developer has offered to make “are certainly extensive” and that they would help traffic flow.
   But Mr. Kochenour said he was not convinced that the applicant had adequately described the traffic impact of the new development. He said the TD Bank, Wawa and McDonald’s would likely generate more traffic than the applicant had portrayed.
   ”I don’t really have my arms around what the trip generation actually will be,” Mr. Kochenour said.