Politics & Government

Smithtown Officials Asked to Scrutinize Proposed 347 Gas Station

Plans to build a 16-pump gas station on Route 347 and Route 111 intersection raises traffic concerns.

Smithtown officials are asking town board members to carefully scrutinize plans for a Route 347 gas station and convenience store before giving it the green light on Thursday. 

Smithtown Planning Director Frank DeRubeis made a last-minute plea to Smithtown Town Board to reconsider the potential traffic impacts of a 16-pump gas station could have on the Route 347 and Route 111 intersection. 

Bolla Operating Corp., based in Garden City, is seeking a zoning change in order to build a 16-pump gas station and convenience store on the northwest corner of the Route 347 and Route 111 intersection. It would take over the vacant United Auto Repair garage and has purchased the residential home next door, which it seeks to have rezoned from residential to neighborhood business to accommodate the gas station. 

"This is a terrible location from an access point of view. It's really not the best location," DeRubeis said. 

DeRubeis said he’s concerned over the driveways for cars heading in and out of the proposed gas station, one would be located off southbound Route 111 and the other on westbound Route 347. 

The proposed Route 347 driveway would overlap with the acceleration lane, causing drivers exiting the proposed gas station to compete with Route 111 drivers turning onto Route 347 and oncoming Route 347 traffic. 

"When cars are turning from Route 111 onto Route 347, you are not looking right," DeRubeis said. "Your head is naturally turned in the opposite direction." 

Bolla Operation did submit a traffic study to the Town of Smithtown with its proposed plans, it does not adequately address this traffic safety issues, according to DeRubeis. 

Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said his recommendation is to have the town's traffic department conduct its own independent study to see if DeRubeis' concerns are valid. 

Smithtown Planning Department has expressed its concerns over the proposed gas station before. 

"We fear ongoing safety concerns with cars entering/exiting the site on conflict with traffic patterns," said senior planner David Flynn at the Jan. 16 Board of Zoning Appears meeting. "If this site is to be developed on Route 347 and Route 111, it would have to prohibit left turns and other turns as well to reduce the potential for traffic congestion and crashes." 

However, Smithtown Town Board approved a negative SEQRA on May 7 finding "a significant negative impact on traffic circulation and safety is not anticipated."  

Councilman Thomas McCarthy and Ed Wehrheim are both supportive of approving the requested change of zoning at Thursday's board meeting to allow plans for the gas station to move forward. 

"What you've got here is a better in, better way out than you've ever had. As a right, they could put a gas station on three-quarters of it," McCarthy said. 

If the gas station plans are approved by the town on Thursday, they would still be subject to review by the New York State Department of Transportation as Route 347 is a state highway. 



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