april?! sooner would be better. i love costco (but not the gas pumps. they can keep the gas pumps.)

finally. i have wanting to get their $1.50 hot dogs and coke deal! #healthy

Bring on Costco gas! Unlike those other fools, I like paying less for gas! The real problem is shopping carts. You can always find a shopping cart from Giant or Dick's in the neighborhood. Whoever is wheeling them into our neighborhood has no community pride or respect for their neighbors. Lazy PsOS need to carry their bags by hand or drive to the mall to do their shopping like the rest of us.

One last thought as a follow up... Carts cost retailers a sizable amount of money. Anyone seen pushing a cart off mall property ought to be charged with theft. Oh, and I still want the gas pumps!

I agree that the gas station is a bad idea. Stephen Knolls, the MCPS school for disabled kids is far too close to the proposed gas location. Costco, move the gas station to a different location!

EB3... They could lock the wheels on the carts like the Target ones do. Or paint a line in the parking lot and if you cross it the wheels lock. Just a thought.

Keep the gas, protect the kids. Here's a thought. Instead of saving all of LOTS of money on our gas bills, only save us a little for the first year. Keep the savings to manage a way to keep the fumes out of Stephen Knolls, then start saving us LOTS of money! Win-win!

What about the children and parents living 125 feet from the station bathed daily in the toxic, carcinogenic tailpipe emissions pollution plume? What about the customers dodging thru the parking lot bathed in the evaporative and emission pollution plume? What about the customers in Costcos store bathed in pollution brought in by the store's air handlers?

No one objects to the gas station -it is the location that is so very dangerous. Find a new location and everyone will be happy.

I'm far happier that Costco itself is coming, so I no longer have to drive to G'burg (crappy Costco) or Crystal City (parking lot of DOOM), but having had the benefit of Costco gas when I was commuting to Howard County, I'd love to see that come in too. Can we just bulldoze the crappy mall and put it there?

We can do better than wedging a gas station in neighborhood where there is no need and the pollution will adversely affect the community. It is going to adversely affect the other stations (those are small business people running those franchises) and inconvenience the 75% of area residents that are not Costco members when some of those stations inevitably close.

Why would anyone be in favor of more development in the area, creating more traffic problems. We already have at least 25 grocery stores within a ten mile radius (probably more). Who needs at 50 pack of toiletpaper???

What is the definition of "need'? I'm not being sarcastic here, but a determination of "need," I presume, will take into account whether prices will be lower for County residents. This obviously should not be the sole consideration, but it will be a consideration. If demand exists for cheap Costco gas, opponents will need to show that the other factors outweigh the significance of the demand. Considering how hard it is to get into the all-cash 12-pump Free State at times, which presumably leads to constant polluting of people living VERY close by, I assume that Costco will be able to show at least some level of demand for the station's likely cheap gas prices. If price was not a factor, the Sunoco 100 feet from the Free State would be just as busy as the Free State. It isn't.

I think it makes sense for opponents to focus on the size of the station, not merely that it's close to homes or to a pool that's already been near the ring road for decades. If being close to homes was an issue, the 12-pump Free State (and nearby Sunoco) wouldn't be 50 feet from people's homes.

On a side note, placing roadblocks against a business just because it's big is not an appropriate approach for Wheaton or any other place that supposedly supports capitalism. If a business can't compete on price, they need to compete with better service or better hospitality or some other way.

Cheap gas...REALLY? Has anyone advocating for the gas station thought about the *real* savings and compared it to the very real health and environmental implications? If not, I'll do it for you...

Costco gas in Beltsville as of today $3.30 (found here http://www.marylandgasprices.com/Costco_Gas_Stations/index.aspx)

Price of Sunoco gas station on the corner of Viers Mill and University $3.45.
(same site - http://www.marylandgasprices.com/GasPriceSearch.aspx)

Yes, that's a $0.15 cent savings. Sounds great, right!?

$3.30 x 16 gallon tank (avg size) - filled up 1x per week for 52 weeks = $2,745
$3.45 x 16 gallon tank (avg size)- filled up 1x per week for 52 weeks = $2,876

Get ready!!!! Yes, that's a difference of $125 Per YEAR! Oops...sorry I forgot to add the minimum $50 Costco membership fee. Hummm....now you've only saved $75 PER YEAR. Right, but I know that your $6.25 per month will be spent on REALLY important things that are TOTALLY needed....nothing so tedious like clean air (benzene is a known carcinogen after all), healthy communities (or do you prefer contaminated ground water?), and safe children (the average age for our area is 38.6 years old). I'm sure your $6.25 per month will be more than enough to pay all of the increased health costs for the unfortunate kids (yes, mine included) living near Montgomery County's LARGEST gas station.

How do you feel about that cheap gas now? I hope you'll rethink your position.

I'd like to also reply to the question of need. If this gas station were a regular gas station would there be a HUGE outcry that we need yet another one in an already gas station dense area?? Absolutely NOT! The only reason people want the Costco gas is because of the price. There is NO NEED for another gas station in Wheaton. There is a want cheap gas but there is no NEED for cheap gas. Refer to my $6.25 per month savings explained above. Please people...get some common sense. There is no God given right to cheap gas but I do believe that babies and children with disabilities should be able to have faith that we, citizens of Montgomery County, will do the right thing and prohibit a MEGA gas station from being placed so close to their homes, schools, and community pool.

And for all of those who are still in dire straights for cheap gas...you'll save way more than $0.15 per gallon if you do your grocery shopping at Giant or Safeway, get yourself a membership card for FREE and fill up with the (depending on how much you spend) potentially HUGE (10 - 80 cents or more) discount they provide.

Andrea--My point was not to enrage you or support the gas station. Price has always been a factor in determining "need." I wanted to make sure that point was understood so rational arguments could be made to offset it.

What are the construction issues? I work at the Mall and in the last 4 months I have not seen any construction workers or any people working at Costco ! ( I have not seen any utility/construction company vehicles parked in any of the adjoining lots)if there were any construction issues they sure have not been addressed until today.
So the reason for the delay in opening might be something else !!!

Concrete pours did not meet county standards

I have lived in the area when there was a Shell gas station where the Wendy's is and where the proposed station is to be , a Ward's automotive center with it's gas oil and fumes was situated. Yes walking to and from the mall as a teen you could always smell the fumes from either Ward's or the Shell . Stephen K school was open back then at it's present site .

I still on occasion walk to the mall past Stephen K school . I have concerns with the safety of anyone crossing the path from the crosswalks by Stephen K across the lanes when Costco opens . MUCH more traffic and inevitably drivers that are in a hurry . I believe they need to put up a crossing signal in this area . It would be safer for the children and teachers crossing to the mall and all other pedestrians .

I can't wait for the costco to open. We belonged to one in Gaithersburg, but then it became a hassle to drive there when my company moved.

So your answer is to let's use more gas and drive around to find the smaller stations. The whole idea of a mega pump station is to service cars quickly. I personally drive a plug in, so my gas needs are almost nil, but this back and forth is folly. Personally attacking Mr. Paine (or whatever his name is- and who cares) is horrible. He makes some intelligent points. BTW, I live 2 miles away. It would seem to me the reason we have such bad air, is we are a large city. If you are so concerned about air quality invest in solar panels and plug in cars. This is so NIMBY.

Not going to even get into this with you as you have already made up your mind and just can't see it. Your comment on radioactive waste through was a hoot! For someone so informed, I'm suprised you didn't know Yucca is not on the table, another NIMBY.

I work in the environmental area and most of these "facts" don't pass the laugh test. Sadly, it's a proven fact the majority of Americans don't even believe in climate change- voodoo science, just ask Sen. Inhoff who is only one among many. But unless you bite the bullet and pay a lot more for a vehicle and the power to run it (plug in) and then want to pay double for the electricity for it to be renewable you aren't putting your money where your mouth is. Just say no never works. Most of your indicated website's concerns could be said for the mall in general- which has been there for decades.

Update: Costco has changed its opening date http://patch.com/A-2cRZ