The Wawa located on the corner of Erial Rd and Branch Avenues in Pine Hill, NJ is set to close in favor of a newer store with gas in another location.  Closing this store will have several horrible effects on our town and community:

1. It will eliminate good jobs from our town, forcing the current store employees to work elsewhere or seek other employment all together;
2. It will eliminate a thriving local business from our town.  We have already lost our only supermarket to a Dollar General.  This store is always bustling with local school children, school teachers and staff, local police and firefighters, tons of area contractors and workers, and the local community who might not have access to a car.  It provides a sense of community unavailable in a giant Wawa;
3. it will unnecessarily increase costs to those who walk to the store by requiring them to either use a car or rely on public transportation or ride share to get to and from another Wawa;
4. it will eliminate, well, convenience and the random “wawa run” we all love and is a part of our local culture.  Isn’t that what Wawa is at its essence? A convenience store?
5. it will disappoint a community that is already awash with dollar stores and vape shops.  Our own 7th grade students from Pine Hill Middle School have already raised awareness of this problem to the Mayor and council.  This is serious.  If our school children can see it, why can’t we?

I do not know the timetable of the closure.  So the time to act is now.  We will circulate this petition to local government and to Wawa corporate headquarters.  Let’s all work together and preserve this important piece of Pine Hill’s community.