Why is Wawa expansion so slow and costly??

IT would be equally cooler if there was a full service Wawa at the station too with a waiting room incorporated into the store. Would be much better than the locked stations we have now.

SCB2525 wrote: Glen Riddle (though a station should be restored there)

Is a Glen Riddle even possible anymore because it looks like all the land available for a stop there has been developed. I read once on one of the smaller news sites that SEPTA wanted to build a station at Lenni as part of an extension to Wawa to complement the storage yard but they thought it would be too expensive and wouldn't generate enough ridership.

Not sure Wawa would pay for a station that already has their name on it; they're getting the milk for free, as it were. AT&T presumably wanted to generate name recognition for people going to sports events; Wawa station is likely to be patronized by local commuters, who already know the business.

But I expect that if there is a convenience store in the station, Wawa would be it, so SEPTA can probably charge premium rent and still get them as a tenant.

loufah wrote:Not sure Wawa would pay for a station that already has their name on it; they're getting the milk for free, as it were. AT&T presumably wanted to generate name recognition for people going to sports events; Wawa station is likely to be patronized by local commuters, who already know the business.

But I expect that if there is a convenience store in the station, Wawa would be it, so SEPTA can probably charge premium rent and still get them as a tenant.

Or could sell the naming rights to 7-11.

bikentransit wrote:IT would be equally cooler if there was a full service Wawa at the station too with a waiting room incorporated into the store. Would be much better than the locked stations we have now.

This is a damned good idea, especially considering you're pretty much building everything but the track from scratch.

Push/Pull Master wrote:

SCB2525 wrote: Glen Riddle (though a station should be restored there)

Is a Glen Riddle even possible anymore because it looks like all the land available for a stop there has been developed. I read once on one of the smaller news sites that SEPTA wanted to build a station at Lenni as part of an extension to Wawa to complement the storage yard but they thought it would be too expensive and wouldn't generate enough ridership.

There appears to be a bit of room for a parking lot but it would primarily be a walk-up station for the apartments there.

SCB2525 wrote:

bikentransit wrote:IT would be equally cooler if there was a full service Wawa at the station too with a waiting room incorporated into the store. Would be much better than the locked stations we have now.

This is a damned good idea, especially considering you're pretty much building everything but the track from scratch.

Push/Pull Master wrote:

SCB2525 wrote: Glen Riddle (though a station should be restored there)

Is a Glen Riddle even possible anymore because it looks like all the land available for a stop there has been developed. I read once on one of the smaller news sites that SEPTA wanted to build a station at Lenni as part of an extension to Wawa to complement the storage yard but they thought it would be too expensive and wouldn't generate enough ridership.

There appears to be a bit of room for a parking lot but it would primarily be a walk-up station for the apartments there.

What's this i hear? Local integration of a station? Gee, who was the one that brought that up originally....... hmmmmmmm

This is one reason why origins at jenkintown stay so stable, there are several apartment blocks within easy walking distance of the station.

Jersey_Mike wrote:Again, why hasn't SEPTA approached Wawa Foods to sponsor the Wawa station? If they can change Patison to "AT&T Station" what is stopping them from getting some bucks that wouldn't even require a name change!! Hell, the faster that station is built the faster Wawa would have an entire LINE named after it.

IIRC, Wawa Inc. gave Delaware County the land for the parking lot/garage at Wawa station gratis, to clear the way for getting the extension done. The timeline for the return on their investment has been disappointing all around, but so it goes.

25Hz wrote: This is one reason why origins at jenkintown stay so stable, there are several apartment blocks within easy walking distance of the station.

Or it could be the fact that it gets more service than any other station that far out. Walk-up majority stations will never be powerhouses of ridership but they have their place. In this case, Elwyn to Wawa is a big enough gap that it could sustain such a station in between. Makes it a hard sell though when you have to go all-out ADA-wise though.

What's the nearest actual Wawa store closest to the Wawa train station site?

SCB2525 wrote:What's the nearest actual Wawa store closest to the Wawa train station site?

452 and Baltimore Pike. About 5-10 mins from there.

There are Wawas about that close now anyway. The Wawa project would allow them to build a true flagship store with a very unique configuration with respect to being integrated with the train station.

ekt8750 wrote:452 and Baltimore Pike. About 5-10 mins from there.

Actually, Wawa closed that store not too long ago. The nearest store (#269!) to the Wawa station/HQ area is about a mile and half south on Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills.

Quinn wrote:

ekt8750 wrote:452 and Baltimore Pike. About 5-10 mins from there.

Actually, Wawa closed that store not too long ago. The nearest store (#269!) to the Wawa station/HQ area is about a mile and half south on Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills.

Wow. That had to have been within the last couple weeks cause I remember it being open when I was up that way (ironically enough driving around looking at the condition of the Elwyn-Wawa ROW).

It was closed July 24, 2013. The building might still be there, though.

Closer to the topic, Wawa is not only closing the smaller, older stores, but their business plan is to only open new stores where they can install gas pumps. I don't think that would be in the cards for a station property.

I'm interested to see how the traffic engineers would work out access from Baltimore Pike, which is a beast down that way.

25Hz wrote:I'm really glad they are extending the line to a station with no nearby population center....

Perhaps you haven't heard of the plans to rehabilitate the nearby former Franklin Mint property into housing and stores.

January 2014 report

March 2014 update