Dunkin’ At Busy Corner To Expand With Drive-Thru

The Dunkin’ at the corner of West Maple Avenue and Old Lincoln Highway in Middletown Township’s Langhorne section will be expanding.

The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors on Monday evening granted preliminary and final land development to M Property LLC for the revamp of the site.

The plan calls for demolishing an old, vacant home next to the current 1,200-square-foot building along Old Lincoln Highway and using the land for the planned drive-thru lane. The approved plan calls for two drive-thru lanes with a third bypass lane that will exit onto Old Lincoln Highway.

The Middletown Township Zoning Hearing Board approved a change for the residential lot to commercial to accommodate the project.

Residents and the Middletown Township Planning Commission offered feedback to the Dunkin’ operator, who has reworked their plan.

The approved plan calls for keeping the existing building and reworking the land around it by adding the drive-thru lanes, changing parking, and allowing entry and exit points on West Maple Avenue and Old Lincoln Highway. It also calls for adding a deceleration lane leading into the Dunkin’ from along West Maple Avenue.

Representatives for Dunkin’ franchisee Jay Development LLC told the supervisors they believe the plan provides the best option for keeping traffic moving surround the fast food coffee location.

Phil Wursta, a traffic engineer working for Middletown Township, said he agrees with Dunkin’s experts that the plan would be able to accommodate customers without causing traffic trouble.

David Shafkowitz, an attorney for the site owner, said the current Dunkin’, which has been open for a little more than a decade, has no stormwater improvements, but the new development calls for adding an underground stormwater system and two new inlets designed to stop water from going downstream from the site.

Sidewalks are proposed on the site along the roadways.

There will also be planted buffers to separate the commercial site from nearby homes.

Residents who spoke during public comment raised concern over traffic and potential water issues with the expansion.

Representatives for Dunkin’ said the upgraded property will be able to handle traffic and stormwater.

Dunkin’ representatives said they believe the overhaul will greatly improve the site.

Shafkowitz explained that Dunkin’ came to the franchisee two years ago and said they could either add a drive-thru or close the store without penalty.

“What this particular franchisee chose to do was acquire more property,” the attorney said.

Prior to becoming a Dunkin’, the site was home to Connie’s Water Ice.

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