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Middletown residents urge township to monitor traffic and runoff from approved Newtown Wawa
Summary
A Middletown resident warned that a newly approved Wawa in neighboring Newtown will drive construction and cut-through traffic onto Middletown roads and could increase stormwater runoff into Core Creek and Lake Luxembourg. Township staff said they will coordinate with Newtown engineers and monitor signal timing and mitigation options.
Tim Burns, a resident who gave his address for the record, told the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors on July 17 that the approval of a Wawa in neighboring Newtown will likely increase construction traffic and long-term cut-through flows on Middletown’s portion of Lower Silver Lake Road. “We will get all of the traffic coming down Lower Silver Lake to Woodburn,” Burns said, adding that construction vehicles and new residential traffic could use Middletown streets without receiving tax or other benefits.
The resident also raised an environmental concern, saying the new store is “maybe a thousand feet from where Core Creek runs” and that increased drainage or spills could flow into Middletown property and Lake Luxembourg. He asked whether Middletown could restrict construction vehicles from using the township’s portion of Lower Silver Lake Road.
Township officials acknowledged the Wawa settlement has been approved in Newtown but emphasized that developer plans still require engineer review. A board member said staff and the township manager will ask the township traffic engineer to contact Newtown’s traffic engineer to explore cooperative mitigation, and the township solicitor said the municipalities are communicating about the related apartment proposal. “We are monitoring that situation,” a township representative said, noting Newtown’s approvals and the continuing plan-review process.
The board did not adopt any ordinance or restriction at the meeting. Officials said they will monitor traffic patterns, look at signal timing and potential mitigation measures, and follow up with Newtown’s engineers and solicitor as the development moves through plan review.
Next steps: Township staff said they will monitor the intersection, coordinate with Newtown engineering staff, and return to the board with any recommended mitigation or enforcement options as specific engineering plans and construction schedules become available.
