Plans for Route 347 Gas Station Move Forward

A new gas station on the corner of Route 347 and Route 111 is one step closer starting construction after Smithtown Town Board's Thursday night meeting. 

Smithtown officials voted 4-1 to approve a change of zoning for Garden-City based Bolla Operation Corp, who hopes to build a 16-pump gas station and convenience store on the busy intersection. 

Bolla will take over the vacant United Auto Repair garage and has the residential home next door, which will be rezoned from residential to neighborhood business to accomodate the new proposed gas station. 

Supervisor Patrick Vecchio was the one vote against the project, reports Times of Smithtown. 

Vecchio suggested the town should conduct another traffic study of the intersection, after Smithtown Planning Director Frank DeRubeis expressed concerns at a Tuesday work session. 

Smithtown Planning Director Frank DeRubeis asked town board members to reconsider approving the gas station plans calling it a "terrible location" for development, given its driveways would overlap with existing turning and acceleration lanes on Route 347. 

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

Now Bolla must submit a site plan for the gas station to the Town Board, who acts as the Board of Site Plan Review. 

The site plan must be approved by New York State Department of Transportation before construction as two of its driveways would be located a state-owned highway.