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Neighbors warn commissioners that new Wawa site will drive trucks onto Johnson Avenue, raise safety concerns
Summary
Residents backing Cambridge Mill subdivision and nearby neighborhoods told the county the new Wawa on Davis Highway will route large trucks onto small Johnson Avenue, lacks adequate turn lanes and buffer plantings, and already shows traffic and signage problems.
Several residents who live immediately behind or adjacent to the new Wawa‑branded convenience‑store development on Davis Highway told the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners that the project’s design threatens safety and quality of life for nearby neighborhoods.
Speakers during the public‑forum portion of the meeting said site access and signage will push trucks and through‑traffic onto Johnson Avenue, a narrow local street they described as heavily used by daycare traffic, industrial trucks and emergency vehicles. Several speakers also said a large illuminated sign and back‑of‑store signage facing the Cambridge Mill subdivision will injure residential privacy and that landscape buffers shown on plans may take years to mature.
Why it matters: County staff review and the board’s land‑use decisions determine how commercial entrances, turn lanes and traffic mitigation are required at build‑out. Residents said the current configuration — especially an entrance at the south end of the parcel that allows 18‑wheelers — will damage neighborhood streets and raise safety risks to school‑age children and daycare centers.
What residents said: Ronald Ward, who lives on Waterwheel Turn behind the site, said project plans online showed the main entrance on the north side but the built entrance was moved to the south, routing 18‑wheelers onto Johnson Avenue. “The radius of their turns is 45 feet; Johnson Avenue is 21 feet at that point,” Ward said. He suggested shifting the entrance north, adding a 180‑foot turn lane on Davis Highway and installing a median on Johnson Avenue to force right‑out only movements.
Mike Hamlin, another nearby resident, told the board the rear of the store faces his cul‑de‑sac and that headlights and signage could intrude on homes even if the final landscaping meets code: “Who knows how many years that landscape buffer is gonna take to grow?” he asked.
Debbie Roudebush said she saw delivery trucks already turning into the new driveway and that traffic was backing onto Davis Highway at 7:30 a.m. She also said a previously promised fence and additional vegetation between the site and neighbors had not been installed.
County response: Commissioners and staff took the comments under advisement. At least one commissioner noted the site had gone through staff review under county rules and that engineering comments would be available to residents. The planning and permitting process includes a formal review and, in some cases, required off‑site turn lanes or other mitigation; residents asked the board to re‑check those engineering decisions.
Ending: Neighbors asked the board to require additional traffic mitigation, a northerly entrance, restrictions on truck movements, earlier planting of mature buffering and enforcement of signage and truck prohibitions on Johnson Avenue. The board did not make a policy vote on the development at the meeting; comments were recorded for staff review and any permitting follow‑up.
