Orchard Park residents voice concerns over gas station project

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — Orchard Park residents expressed concerns Wednesday about a proposed gas station on the road to Highmark Stadium.

At the city council meeting, council members heard more details about the gas station, but it drew backlash from community members who said it did not prioritize fans during football season.

Four residents spoke out against the idea. They said if the gas station were built on Abbott Road and Big Tree Road, it would cause a lot of traffic problems. The move comes after a traffic study commissioned by the group hoping to build the gas station found there would be no problems.

“Traffic will be backed up in every direction. The game day experience will be ruined by three-hour traffic jams every week,” said Gary, a concerned Orchard Park resident. “Why make a bad traffic situation worse?”

“If traffic is coming in and out of that convenience store during peak game-day traffic, it’s going to be chaos,” said Orchard Park resident Bob Fessler. “I doubt they would have agreed and said there was no negative impact if they had taken game-day traffic into account.”

The developer proposing the gas station argued there is a need for this type of business in the Orchard Park community. He said because it is a convenience store with takeout service, most people stopping there will be just passing through, which should not impact traffic.

“It’s not a typical destination,” said attorney Sean Hopkins, who represents the potential developers. “You drive through, it’s convenient to stop on the way home, on the way to work, in the middle of the day, and then drive away.”

Local businesses spoke to News 4 and said they agree with residents’ concerns.

Mark Ebeling, owner of Danny’s South, says traffic is going to be a huge problem, but he’s even more disappointed that it’s the city council’s priority.

“If that’s what Orchard Park thinks about redevelopment, it’s a joke,” Ebeling said. “There should be a hotel. There should be a lot of hotels, not a lot, but a few.”

He also said more business would be good for everyone and he would like to see larger establishments like hotels and other restaurants open in the area.

“The more businesses that are open, the more people come,” Ebeling said. “It’s a rundown neighborhood right now. When Walmart was down the street, it was beautiful. Now there’s no traffic. There’s going to be more traffic if more businesses open.”

The City of Orchard Park also released its rezoning proposal for areas near Highmark Stadium.

The council was scheduled to vote on the measure on July 3 and hold a public hearing on Aug. 7, but the measure was ultimately dropped by council members for legal reasons. They did not provide further details.

To read the rezoning proposal, click here.