I'd like to state that I am for a Giant Eagle GetGo in the city of Stow. However, where Giant Eagle Corp has decided to place their new GetGo location in Stow with approval of the Stow Planning and Zoning Commission at the intersections of Darrow Road/Stow Road/Liberty Road (at the former Marathon gas station) is in my opinion, a very bad decision for the following reasons:
1. The lot size is very small in relationship to the potential customer base. For example, the GetGo location in Twinsburg serves a much smaller customer base but that station has twice as much space and twice as many gas pumps as the station in Stow will have even though the population of Stow is more than twice as much as Twinsburg. Other examples are the GetGo stations in Boardman and Canfield which also serve a smaller customer base but both of those stations are far greater in size than the station in Stow will be.
2. The traffic this gas station will generate will cause major traffic congestion problems at an intersection which already has five points (Stow Rd, Darrow Road from the north, Darrow Road from the south, Liberty Road from the southeast and the entrance to a Stow fire station.
3. Speaking of which - the entrance to a fire station is at this intersection and any potential for traffic congestion must be avoided to prevent problem with emergency fire services. Placing the GetGo at this location will likely increase the risk of impediment of delivery of fire emergency services. Seconds can make the difference between life and death and any impediment must be avoided.
The best location for a GetGo station would be at the current Giant Eagle location on Norton Road. There is a huge parking lot there which is largely unused and can easily accommodate a GetGo station large enough to serve the needs of area residents without creating safety hazards which will now be induced.