Murrysville council approves Dollar General, hears car wash proposal
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Murrysville council approved a new Dollar General location Wednesday, but not without some concern about its addition to traffic at the intersection of Route 66 and Ringertown Road.
“Ringertown is kind of a cut-off from Old William Penn Highway to 66,” Councilman Mac McKenna said. “And no one is using it to shop now because there’s no store there. But when a Dollar General is there, maybe they will.”
Councilman Jason Lemak said the steep grade of Ringertown Road as it meets Route 66 is a difficult intersection to navigate. Other council members echoed his concerns about potential shoppers pulling out from Ringertown and crossing all of Route 66 to get to the Dollar General.
Bob Gage of GBT Realty, a Tennessee firm that contracts with Dollar General, said, historically, Dollar General stores have not been “destination” locations.
“People aren’t leaving their house specifically to go there, like you would a Super Walmart,” Gage said. “People tend to stop as they’re driving along the road where the store is located.”
A traffic study in support of the project estimated that the store would not generate additional trips on Ringertown, based on existing traffic counts and patterns.
“I asked several residents on that road, and most said they don’t usually go that way because there’s too much traffic (on Route 66),” Lemak said.
Gage said those types of traffic situations tend to sort themselves out.
“If there are already problems pulling out from Ringertown, people will likely avoid it,” he said. “We don’t anticipate the traffic level changing there.”
Lemak and Councilman Carl Stepanovich voted against approving the store.
Car wash proposed
Council also held a public hearing for a proposed Tommy’s Express Car Wash at 4765 William Penn Highway, the former Choice Auto Sales.
The company is seeking conditional use to build and operate an automated car wash facing Route 22, with entrances from the highway as well as from Old William Penn Highway in the rear.
Engineer Justin DePaolis said traffic is estimated to be around 100 cars per hour during the business’ typical peak time, between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“In my 18 years on council, I’ve watched Old William Penn change from residential to mixed used to what it is today, and it’s been relatively smooth,” former council member Joan Kearns said. “Until I saw this plan.”
Kearns said the combination of existing and potential traffic near the proposed location is a big concern, particularly when nearby Franklin Regional School District is dismissing students.
“There is an influx of traffic in the short trunk between Old William Penn and 22 in late afternoon,” Kearns said. “I’ve seen cars waiting from School Road to Tarr Hollow Road waiting to get through that stop sign. And it will be worsened by people entering and leaving the car wash.”
Tommy’s is a nationwide chain centered in the Midwest. The nearest location is Chambersburg, but the company is proposing new sites in Murrysville, Jeannette and Robinson.
The conditional-use application will go before the Murrysville Planning Commission at its Sept. 13 meeting 7 p.m Tuesday at the municipal building, 4100 Sardis Road.