Wawa Receives Approval For West Trenton Avenue & Pine Grove Road Site

The proposed Wawa at the old Acme site at West Trenton Avenue and Pine Grove Road has been approved by the Falls Township Board of Supervisors.

Construction of the 5,586-square-foot convenience store with gas pumps is expected to begin by July and will accompany a series of road upgrades and traffic signal improvements – two rather large concerns that residents and officials debated for the last several years. Developers for the site have told the Falls Board of Supervisors that they expect the project to reach completion by Christmas.

Improvements to the area will include a new traffic signal, left and right turn lanes into the store, two lanes exiting the Wawa, traffic signal timing improvements, widening of the roadway on Pine Grove Road, as well as 26 ramps at intersections and pedestrian accommodations in alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including sidewalks along West Trenton Avenue and Pine Grove Road.

The new development has been called Morrisville Commons in plans presented publicly.

Supervisors have heard testimony from party status members, residents, as well as developers for Wawa for the last several years in an effort to approve conditional use for a fueling station in the township’s highway commercial district. While Supervisor Jeff Dence voted no on the conditional use application, the other supervisors voted yes.

As part of the conditional use agreement, one of the pumps will be full service, enabling customers with disabilities and others who desire full service to be accommodated with the push of a button. Wawa officials noted earlier this week that employees will pump customers’ gas on request for no additional cost.

The remainder of the 8.7-acre development is proposed to include a 14,578-square-foot pharmacy, as well as a 1,850-squarefoot quick service restaurant with drive-thru window.

In studying the impact that site traffic will have on the area, the board requested that Wawa deliveries and trash pickup be restricted to between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The site, according to Wawa officials, is expected to receive two deliveries a day.

Supervisor Chairman Bob Harvie shared that a rebuild of a Wawa store on Wistar and New Falls roads helped to improve traffic and hoped this new Wawa would have similar results.

“That gave me a little bit more peace of mind listening to the traffic information,” he said. “The comfort level I had looking at this plan was growing. I know certain people are disappointed in our vote. I think, in general, the plan is a good one.”

While Dence noted he was not satisfied with the plans and the impending traffic nightmare associated with the site.

“I felt the traffic study was inadequate for a 24/7 Wawa that sells gas. They used the same traffic study that was done for a Rite Aid and two restaurants. I live less than 1/4 mile away and see the traffic at that intersection, especially on the weekends. The developer’s traffic engineer stated that no traffic study was done on a Sunday which is a very busy day in that area,” Dence said . “[The traffic engineer] also stated that Wawa isn’t a destination it’s more passerby traffic. This may be true in some areas but in the location where the Wawa is going there’s actually no gas in the area so it will definitely be a destination.”