By Chris Mueller, Moon News Cloud Contributor

Driving down the Moon Township stretch of University Boulevard, numerous forms of car dealerships are evident on both sides on the road.

Car dealerships are beneficial for communities across the nation. They stimulate economy, create jobs and provide a service to the township. But once one car dealership springs up, another one is not close behind.

According to county records, Moon Township currently has seven car dealerships in a 1-mile stretch. Chevrolet, Toyota, Jeep, Nissan, Ford, Scion and Volkswagon all have Moon Township affiliates to buy and trade their models. They compete against each other, and try to one-up the competitors to be considered the best car dealer provider in the area.

But when is enough actually enough?

Seven car dealerships for a small community is a lot, and not one of the seven car dealerships has received a 5-star rating.

“Moon still feels like the old Airport town,” said Dan Beisler, 52, of Carnot-Moon. “With all of the car dealerships, gas stations and fast-food chains, I think Moon residents are deprived of a town they can enjoy.”

Perhaps he is considering 20 years ago, when the site of the old Pittsburgh airport was a lot closer than the current location today. Moon literally used to be just hotels and gas stations, a quick stop for daily travelers to prepare for take-off.

Now, with the continued growth of the community and increased attendance of Robert Morris University, Moon Township now holds a duty to become more than the “old airport town.”

“I think it’s been a problem for a while,” said Beisler. “Some of those dealerships have been around for a while. Others are new, so it’s hard to distinguish between the two.”

Moon’s economy likely does not need seven car dealerships to keep afloat in 2014. But what are alternative ways to stimulate economic surplus than offering a stretch of boring, non-lively car dealerships to surround a university?

Knocking them down is an option.

It would take a restaurant or company wanting to buy the land for one of the seven car dealerships to come down. Not very likely, although not impossible, getting rid of one or two of the dealerships may help improve other areas of the economy.

With the projected addition of the Auto Zone to Moon Township, it doesn’t look like community officials are doing anything to spice up the car dealership stretch. It’s up to the people to deliver what they want, or Moon will continue to be famous as the old, run-down airport town that is just a pit stop for people flying out of the area.