Lots of people love Chick-Fil-A, but some aren't loving its proposed location in Newtown Township.
A petition opposing construction of the popular eatery at 98 Upper Silver Lake Road, near Newtown-Yardley Road, was launched on April 30, and has gotten [more than] 600 signatures, most from local residents.
"As residents living within 500 feet of the proposed construction site ... we are deeply concerned about the potential negative impacts on our community," states the petition, started by resident Donna Serdula.
Serdula, who lives about 1,200 feet from the proposed 6,000-square-foot Chick-Fil-A, said it will be a traffic nightmare for her neighborhood, Wiltshire Walk, and for surrounding residents, too.
"It’s going to be huge. It’s bigger than the Wawa that’s going to be building near it,” she said.
“Why are they building this here? I mean, they already have a Chick-Fil-A that's a seven minute drive away,” she said. “They aren’t building it for the community. They’re building it to draw traffic from (I-295). They’re building it because the Wawa is going to draw traffic for everyone who wants hoagies and gas.
“Essentially, they’re turning Newtown into a truck stop,” she said.
“I opposed the Wawa for several reasons," said township Supervisor John Mack, "but primarily because there’s a lot of issues with the traffic at that intersection. It already backs up from Newtown-Yardley Road,” he said.
Chick-Fil-A has been scheduled to make its first case for variances for setbacks and signage before the township Planning Commission on April 16, but canceled three hours before the meeting, Mack said. [Many] residents had planned to attend. "Chick-Fil-A chickened out," Mack said.
What's Next?
The next Planning Commission meeting is set for Tuesday, May 21 at 7 p.m. [at 100 Municipal Dr in Newtown PA 18940]. If Chick-Fil-A is on the agenda, it will likely be a packed house. That's because, Serdula said, residents are concerned with that intersection. With Wawa on one corner and Chick-Fil-A on the other, two more corners are prime for similar development.
More...
Essentially, with regard to Newtown, the loop in the Business Commons will be eliminated as shown in the attached image captured from the above document.
I believe rte 130 was mentioned at least once at the NTPlanning Commission in discussions about the Business Commons Overlay plan. The original overlay did NOT include areas without direct access to the 130 SEPTA bus line (see May 25, 2022 BOS meeting notes). SEPTA's planned changes to the Rte may have been a main reason for the alteration of that plan to disregard aligning development with the 130 bus rte.
In any case, this is bad news for the Business Commons Overlay plan to attract businesses because any workers from Philadelphia and other areas along Rte 130 would have to walk from Lincoln Ave along Washington Avenue to get to Terry Dr and then further into the Commons to get to work. Good for the cardio, but not so good for business!