How Many Gas Stations Are Enough?

There's lots of gas stations in business and springing up on Bloomingdale Avenue, which begs the question, when is enough, enough?

From the newly opened Thorntons on U.S. Highway 301 to the Hess in business on Lithia-Pinecrest Road, there are seven gas stations in business or under construction, with an eighth on its way on a patch of land across the street from Hess.

There, a bevy of stores, including Lucky Day Emporium, recently closed. The building they occupied is being torn down to make way for another Wawa convenience store.

Again, that would make eight gas station/convenience stores open and coming on a 4.5-mile stretch of Bloomingdale Avenue. Add it up, and it amounts to one Thorntons, two Wawa's, one RaceTrac, one 7-Eleven, two Mobil's and one Hess.

In comparision, the 4.5 stretch of land on State Road 60, from U.S. Highway 301 to Lithia-Pinecrest Road, sports seven gas stations and convenience stores of small or modest size. A super-sized Thorntons is under construction at the corner of Brandon Boulevard and Lithia-Pinecrest Road.

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Is this the right mix of gas station and convenience stores? Too much? Like the variety, and the  placement? Let us know in the comment box below.

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The issue of how many gas stations are enough came up April 5 at the corner of Lumsden Road and South Kings Avenue, where a handful of protestors urged motorists to "Deny 12-0263," referring to the application number for the proposed RaceTrac development there.

• See Activists Rally Against Gas Station in Wetlands

Activist Edith Stewart, a retired county employee, noted that Bloomingdale Avenue had already become a "gas pan alley."

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The photo gallery attached to this post traces the gas stations on a 4.5-mile stretch of Bloomingdale Avenue, from Thorntons, at U.S. Highway 301 and Progress Boulevard, west to the Hess and upcoming Wawa at Bloomingdale Avenue and Lithia-Pinecrest Road.

Likewise, photos are shown of the gas stations along a 4.5-mile stretch of State Road 60/Brandon Boulevard, from the Marathon gas station at U.S. Highway 301 east to the upcoming Thorntons at Lithia-Pinecrest Road.

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