Big Box stores have no place in downtown Blacksburg. A Walmart in downtown will hurt local merchants and goes against the Blacksburg community's initiative to buy "fresh" and "local."
Put in small shops or something. Something that flows with the characteristics of Blacksburg, and brings uniqueness to the town. Wal-Mart is big and boring.
I encourage each person to visit a local 'mom & pop' business today. That's what keeps communities strong...supporting each other. We all know we SHOULD support our independent stores, today (then tomorrow, etc.), just do it! Encourage town council to pass this ordinance. Show your support for healthy growth and for your friends and neighbors that own small businesses in town.
We ALREADY have a WalMart in Christiansburg. Overkill, don't we think? Plus, Walmart is basically hell incarnate anyway...the one in christiansburg is already far more than this area needs.
No way. I'm totally opposed to the idea of a Wal-Mart in Blacksburg. A big sprawling Wal-Mart would completely take away from beautiful small time feel of Blacksburg.
The reason I chose to come to school here is for the small, friendly town. I do NOT want a walmart in Blacksburg. The drive to the Christiansburg one is SO short. theres no reason!
It's bad enough that there is a Wal-Mart in Christiansburg, which kills commerce for K-Mart, Target, and the likes, but to bring one HERE? There's no place to put it and for god's sake, the other one is less than 10 minutes away! WE DO NOT NEED WAL-MART IN BLACKSBURG. PERIOD.
This is upsetting to me as a former resident of Blacksburg and as an alumni of Virginia Tech. If the Walmart in Christiansburg was too crowded or busy, Id at least be willing to hear the argument. But, with the exception of "rush" week when everyone is moving back in during August, the Walmart is very tolerable (as far as crowded stores go). I have never had a problem going except during those few weeks in August, and as a former Walmart employee, i know for a fact that the Walmart in Christiansburg can easily handle larger everyday crowds without anyone noticing. So what business would this new Walmart hope to receive? There is no market for them, and the argument of convenience will not even work, because how much more convenience does one need than a five minute drive. You can ride a bike there in half an hour! When I first started school as a freshman, one of the main reasons I attended Virginia Tech as opposed to other schools was because of the small town atmosphere (much like where i grew up), but i also enjoyed having all the advantages of a larger city, DOWN THE ROAD. This is also the reason I loved living in Blacksburg as much as I did, and these reasons kept me in town for 6 years, and I wish I could have stayed longer. I love Blacksburg, and the homely, personal feel that the town offers, without lacking anything that another city could offer. We have everything we could need, in a setting we can love. I want my kids to be able to attend Virginia Tech, and feel as comfortable and at home as I did when I attended, but they will never have that opportunity if you destroy everything we love about OUR town. That's right. IT IS OUR TOWN. BLACKSBURG IS OUR HOME. We as Hokies see returning to Blacksburg as our homecoming. It is where our heart's lie, and no matter how far away we are, our hearts will always be there, and we will always return home. Returning to Blacksburg is part of what makes it special. Don't destroy
walmart is a bad employer who fires their employees when they have been there to long so they don't have to give them a raise. Blacksburg is such a thirving community with little businesses doing well. We don't need an UNequal employer coming in and messing up a good thing, putting small businesses out.
Blacksburg is losing its identity already. Why do we need to be just like EVERY other town in America? Homogenizing our town will not improve our lives. Wal Mart kills small business, further skews our trade deficit with China (increasing inflation), and drives down wages. How can we need another of these monsters?
I do not want a Wal-Mart in Blacksburg nor any other Big Box retailer. We built the new bypass so that we could arrive in Christiansburg within 5 minuets. Keep Wal-Mart Out.
Do you like buying cheap goods at Wal-Mart? Then drive 10 minutes to Christiansburg and stock up on all the plastic items you can. Use the bypass, it’s already built and it doesn’t force small business, out of business. Keep Wal-Mart out of Blacksburg!
