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McCandless Residents Upset Over Walmart Approval

MCCANDLESS (KDKA) - The McCandless Town Council approved plans for a new Walmart Supercenter during a meeting at Carson Middle School early Tuesday morning.

The meeting lasted over five hours.

Walmart has plans to go in the parking lot where Trader Horn is located along Blazier Drive off of McKnight Road.

Roughly 400 people attended a meeting Monday night saying they were opposed to the plan.

However, local leaders say the move will be good for the community.

Citizens say the store will bring unwanted traffic and unwanted crime to the quiet community.

"It will have an impact on the park because we will have bicyclists and people that not only run in the park," McCandless resident Vito Bochicchio said.

Vito Bochicchio said he's concerned that these people are at risk of getting hurt with an increase in truck traffic near North Park.

Bicycle Bait and Tackle Owner Dwight Yingling has other concerns.

"When they're building, they have to tear down buildings and bulldoze everything and the run off of mud and water coming down the creek," Yingling said.

Town Council said they did what they thought was best.

"We thought all of the conditions were met. The requirements of the ordinance were met," McCandless Councilman Ralph Ledonne said.

Walmart spokesperson Bill Wertz issued this statement:

"We are very pleased by the vote to approve a new Walmart Supercenter in McCandless. The Council recognized that our proposal met all town requirements and had the support of many in the community for the affordable prices and convenience that we offer to our customers. We have plans in place to address the concerns raised about traffic raised by residents who live near our site. We share their desire for safe and convenient access to our store."

While Walmart can move forward, people can file civil lawsuits to block the store from coming. However, Walmart has the option to back out of the deal if they would decide to do so in the future.

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