don't take this wrong.... I enjoy the atmosphere of the central business
district as much as anybody, and I dislike the sea of asphalt in front of
walmart, kmart, and tristate as much as anybody. the three half dead
junipers which serve as "landscaping" in front of schucks are "not good"
but.............
"inconvenience and offensive atmosphere"????????
can you explain that?
how is a guaranteed, untimed parking space, vs hunting for a limited time
parking space in the cbd inconvenient?
how is one stop shopping vs going from store to store inconvenient?
how is a huge selection vs limited and spotty selection inconvenient?
a case of name brand motor oil at walmart is $11.88. before they came
to town, the lowest I could find in the area was in excess of $15.
the old ace hardware in downtown pullman never had any selection. it
quickly became apparent that it was a waste of time to even walk in the
door.
my point is, that convenience is what a store such as wal mart is all
about. that is exactly their strength. and for folks on a tight budget,
pricing is a major issue.
do I worry about the deleterious affects a walmart can have on the
viability of the cbd? yes. would I like to see landscape mitigation of the
huge parking area. yes. does the impossibly steep slope with no
horizontal drainage control swales behind the store give me pause to
think. yes.
but if we are to avoid future "mistakes" and ameliorate current ones, we
need to recognize their strengths, understand them, and develop
strategies to deal with them.
the last few pieces of correspondence seem to ignore recognition the
superstore strenghts.
...ray
>>> Jim Trivelpiece <jimt@moscow.com> 07/27/95 12:30am >>>
>On Wed, 26 Jul 1995, Pam Palmer wrote:
>
>> >As consumers we like the idea of saving a few bucks a month by
>> >shopping at Wal-Mart. As citizens we look beyond immediate
pocketbook
>> >gratification and consider the impact on the local economy. Do we
vote
>> >to save a few dollars in the short run or to preserve the long-term
>> >economic health and character of the place where we live? ###
>
> Too bad the people of Moscow never even had a chance to vote.
> That is the real tragedy in rural America.
>
i guess one other consideration is whether going to a huge store to save
a few bucks makes up for the inconvenience and offensive atmosphere.
i vote no and no
jim trivelpiece