Community resistance to proposed Kwik Trip near Stoughton day care

A proposal for a new Kwik Trip in Stoughton is being met with opposition for its proximity to a longstanding day care center, according to a report from Channel3000.

The city is currently considering a plan that would bring a car wash, gas station, and convenience store within a few hundred feet of Weebleworld Childcare Center, right in the middle of two its campuses.

Parents of children who attend the center and other area residents have expressed concerns about negative health effects impacting kids who spend much of their day at the center due to possible emissions and toxic fumes.

Kwik Trip has applied for a conditional use permit from Stoughton to build the facility, which may leave the city with limited options for rejecting it, officials noted. That’s because of a newer state law passed in 2017 that leaves a lack of clarity for municipalities on what standards they can use for rejecting a conditional use permit.

Other community members advocating against the Kwik Trip have raised concerns about pedestrian safety with the assumed increase in traffic the company would bring.

A public hearing on the issue in scheduled for April 11.

Weebleworld Childcare Center has served families in Stoughton and surrounding communities for 16 years. It is the city’s largest day care with about 150 kids currently enrolled.