Greensburg Mayor Robb Bell and Councilman Randy Finfrock have traffic-related safety concerns about an updated plan for a long-awaited Sheetz gas station and convenience store on the eastern edge of the city.
Those concerns center around traffic going in and out of the proposed location at East Pittsburgh Street and Humphrey Road and adjacent shopping plazas, including that of a Shop ‘n Save grocery store.
They asked that Sheetz officials attend council’s Jan. 12 voting session to provide more details about the plans, which were first proposed in 2023.
“As it stands right now, as I visualize it right now, I would vote no, just until I get some kind of clarification what they’re doing with traffic going through that Shop ‘n Save,” Bell said.
Greensburg council in 2023 approved land development and subdivision plans for a new Sheetz location proposed in the Davis Shopping Center. A requirement of the approval was that Sheetz get a highway occupancy permit from PennDOT, said Greensburg solicitor Zachary Kansler.
That permit calls for the addition of a left turning lane from East Pittsburgh Street into the site, which means the road needs to be widened, he said.
Meanwhile, a Sheetz gas station and convenience store is under construction along Route 30 in Hempfield at the site formerly occupied by a Rite Aid. Township supervisors approved the site plan in February. The development is at West Hills Drive across the highway from Greengate Centre.
In an effort to widen East Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg, Sheetz negotiated with the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg for a small piece of land across the street but wasn’t successful, Kansler said, so the new land development and subdivision plan before council shows a slightly smaller location to account for the road widening.
The new plans shifted the convenience store building south about 10 feet. The plans also show the partial demolition of the existing Davis Center building, which houses SeaBase Family Fun Center, with the rear half remaining. SeaBase previously said it wasn’t closing and construction plans included a new facility.
Traffic would be directed right out of the proposed site onto East Pittsburgh Street or around the back onto Humphrey Road. Bell is concerned that motorists seeking to go left on East Pittsburgh Street may go through the neighboring Shop ‘n Save parking lot to get to a light at the entrance to the Davis Shopping Center plaza by Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.
Public safety in the Shop ‘n Save lot could be an issue, he said, if that happens.
Finfrock is worried about traffic on Humphrey Road, which can get backed up at the light at East Pittsburgh Street.
“This is going to add to that,” he said.
A conditional approval of the land development and subdivision plan by council would require Sheetz get a highway occupancy permit from PennDOT. If Sheetz officials aren’t able to attend the Jan. 12 meeting, Kansler said, a decision on the plan could be pushed back a month.
“They can address these concerns a lot better than we can,” said Alec Italiano, Greensburg’s planning director.
A Sheetz media representative did not respond to a message.
