Bridgewater Residents Protest Proposed Wawa Gas Station

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A petition has been started by Bridgewater residents opposed to the proposed Wawa's 24-hour gas station and convenience store.

The new store is being proposed at 719 Route 202 and Fischer Place in Bridgewater.

"While the detriments to us are severe and obvious, there is no justification beyond self-interest of Wawa and the Developer," the petition states on change.org. "The service provided by the proposed Wawa and the Developer is neither unique nor needed, as evidenced by the abundance of similar businesses in close proximity. The harms it causes are neither necessary nor reasonable for residents of local community."

The petition was started by Bridgewater resident Agnieszka Szymanowska and she is hoping more people will protest the project.

Szymanowska is protesting the project for a number of reasons including:

• We will be next door to a 24/7 commercial hub not unlike rest areas on major highways barely buffered by a thin layer of screening trees and shrubs. We will lose our peaceful enjoyment and privacy to the noise, the fumes, stress and hassle, and danger.
• As our community loses its sense of enclosure, it loses a fundamental appeal associated with any desirable communities, leading to an inevitable decline in property value.
• The resale value of houses in our community will decrease.
• Additional traffic due to the development will significantly exacerbate the existing congestion on RT 202, making it dangerous, if not impossible, to merge from Charlotte Drive especially during peak hours when it matters the most.
• The increased traffic and changed traffic pattern will render this section of RT 202 unsafe for local residents, either walking or driving.
• A 24-hour mega gas station + convenience store at the proposed location will most likely draw heavy traffic, especially out-of-towners from through traffic on RT 202, causing unwanted congregations, conducive to drugs, violence and crime, therefore threatening the safety of our children.
• The gas station will pose a hazard to our environment and health as is well established of any gas stations adjacent to residential areas.
• The proposed Retail Buildings A, B and C does not have a tenant. Bridgewater already has more than enough of vacant office/retail space.

The next Planning Board meeting is schedule for Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Bridgewater's Municipal Building where protestors are planning to gather.

For more information on the petition CLICK HERE.

(Image via Wawa.com)

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