The following letter was sent to Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission Chair Robert Wheatley with a copy provided to the Cape Gazette for publication.
Two years ago, I purchased a home in the new community of Middle Creek Preserve in Lewes to be closer to my daughter and new grandson.
I am writing to express my opposition to the application from Royal Farms to build a gas station/convenience store/car wash on the corner of John J. Williams Highway and Angola Road.
That corner is very difficult to navigate now, let alone with a Royal Farms on the corner. I have had to sit through two, sometimes three, cycles of red lights on numerous occasions. I can only imagine the negative impact a Royal Farms would add to the traffic there, or even delays for emergency vehicles. Their plan calls for an exit from the Royal Farms onto Angola Road. It will be extremely difficult for a vehicle to make a left turn from that exit, and I believe they would be forced to make a right turn and have to make a U-turn to head back to John J. Williams Highway. That U-turn would inevitably be into the entrance of where I live in Middle Creek Preserve. That is exactly where our community’s school bus stop is.
Our children, including my grandson, will also be tempted into walking or riding their bikes to Royal Farms for candy, as kids will do. With the amount of traffic at that location, it is a disaster waiting to happen.
One other thing I’d like to bring to your attention is that Royal Farms has been conducting a massive campaign to get approval for this application. I’ve received a text to my personal cellphone asking me to complete a survey. When I tried to enter negative comments and express my displeasure, it would not allow me to and redirected me to propaganda showing what a great thing it would be for the community. I find that appalling. It is not a survey at all. It is propaganda, pure and simple. My point is that many of the signatures on these petitions are not sincere. They have been bought and paid for, so please take them for what they are.
Look, I am not opposed to any type of business being located there. Maybe a strip mall, chiropractor, veterinarian, whatever, but not a 24-hour gas station/convenience store/car wash. This is a residential community area, not an industrial one. There are numerous gas stations and convenience stores within a few miles of the same location. We do not need another one.
In my opinion and many others, the negative impact on this residential area would be extremely detrimental. Please don’t allow this Royal Farms application to go forward.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
