To the Editor:

Voters in Wareham recently ruled against a proposed bylaw amendment I brought to Fall Town Meeting that would have allowed for new filling stations in town.

In 2007, the West Wareham Strategic Committee rezoned strip commercial to general commercial, which took away valuable usage or opportunity for business in the area along Route 28 from I-195 to Atlantic Boats.

I feel there are several reasons why a gas station on the east side of Cranberry Highway would be beneficial to the town.

Since 1972, 11 filling stations have closed. Since 2002, four have closed. By bringing in another gas station, it would help the town economy. A typical gas station with a convenience store can bring the town $16,000 to $20,000 a year, as opposed to an acre of land with a smaller business, which brings in about $6,000 per year.

It was said at Town Meeting that a new gas station would cause pollution in the ground. Any new gas stations that are put in have double-walled, fiberglass tanks, making them safe and not susceptible to leakage.

From Home Depot, there’s not a gas station on the right hand side of 28 until you get all the way to Maxi Gas near I-195. Once the construction is done at Rosebrook Place and Walmart, the traffic is going to increase, and it’s going to be impossible to make a left hand turn out of the station across from Rosebrook.

The economy is tough, but “Big Oil” and “Big Gas”—that industry is working, and by opposing the development of a new gas station in town, the voters and opposers are pushing that away.

I think that we should rethink the idea of having no more filling stations in town, and urge the public to do so in the future.

Christoper Gabriel