McKinney Debates Truck Stop, Weigh Station Near School Route
MCKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) – City officials are addressing whether a proposed truck stop at U.S. 75 and Wilmeth will put the safety of school children at risk.
QuikTrip hopes to put a fueling station there, and the city is weighing wether to include a weigh station. McKinney's Planning Commission has approved the weigh station and the City Council will have final approval of the project, which some say will increase traffic among long haulers.
For car dealers like Craig Nedrow, nothing is more important to his business than customer accessibility.
"It's huge; if you can't get in and out of a dealership you're in trouble," says Nedrow.
The sales manager for Eldorado Mazda worries about traffic from 18-wheelers if Quik Trip builds a huge truck refueling station at the corner of 75 and Wilmeth.
"We do want to be business friendly and community friendly but having 18-wheelers lining up down the service road that would be a concern for us," says Nedrow.
With McKinney North High School just down the street, Superintendent J.D.
Edwards sent a letter to the city opposing the project saying,
"Adding large truck traffic to this intersection would greatly impact this safe transport."
The school district says 4,250 students attend McKinney North and a nearby middle school rides on the 240 buses that pass down Wilmeth each day.
City officials say the project is not a done deal, even with planning commission approval.
"I think they're varying viewpoints on the council some view it as a definite positive to the city we don't have that and offers some benefit to commercial traffic some of us view to contrary to the vision we have for the Highway 75 corridor," said Travis Ussery, McKinney Mayor Pro Tem.
