I recently moved from a larger city where these types of stores are everywhere. I personally enjoy Blacksburg's small town feeling and would like to see it stay that way.
Keep blacksburg the small town that all of the alumni cherish and remember. Support and attract local businesses into the empy stores already located in downtown!
Walmart helps our family personally, but it won't help the community of Blacksburg and it won't fit in well w/ the people of Blacksburg. I believe the one in Christiansburg and Radford(?) is good enough for the NRV as well.
The town officials have allowed home owners to build a virtual wall between the J.N.Forest and down town.
Why are you all so surprised that those people don't want to have to cross town to get cheap goods? They got what they wanted from you in terms of a National Park view very cheap. Now they want goods cheap. I don't want the wal-mart type store any more than you do but where were you when they were bulldozing miles of mountain top in favor of eco-agressive non-autonomous neighborhoods?
I've was born in and grew up in Blacksburg. These homogenous stores take away from the unique quality of our community. We need to keep Blacksburg Blacksburg, rather than converting it to Christiansburg. We've seen what happens when this type of development begins.
Your money spent at a local business stays in the community 5-times as long as money spent in chains. Big box stores create big pollution and destroy communities.
A Wal-mart in Blacksburg would be ridiculous. I live on South Main Street and have to cross it everyday, and it's near-impossible to do so because of all the traffic unwilling to stop as it is. I think it's fair to expect the good people of Blacksburg to drive 10 minutes to get to a Wal-mart
Blacksburg does not need this kind of storeand the the traffic it would generate. If Wal-Mart is the only place an item can be found, the store in the New River Mall area is available--24 hours a day!!!!
What good can possibly come from bringing a Wal-Mart to Blacksburg? Lets follow through with this Ordinance, even if Wal-Mart backs out to ensure that future development doesn't allow access to these giant, aggressive big box stores.
The Walmart is already accessible 10 minutes away. WE DON'T NEED IT. Any shops that go in there should be forced to be ecologically correct. Have green areas to soak up runoff water. Blacksburg has the ability to be an ecologically conscious town. With all the brains at Va. Tech someone needs to step up to the plate and take leadership regarding this chance to keep the pollution this will bring down to a minimum.
As a Landscape Architect with a great knowledge of Blacksburg and the New River Valley I can say that there is no advantage what so ever in bringing a large box store into Blacksburg. There will be no convenience for customers and it will be in a loosing competition with the well placed Christiansburg box stores. The infastructure was built to support our easy access to these stores in Christiansburg and such infastructure will drastically change the feel of Blacksburg should the town council vote to increase retail space so drastically.
Big box stores in and around Blacksburg will further erode the fabric of a college town atmosphere. While proponents will point to increased tax revenue, they forget about the infrastructure required and the concessions that municipalities must offer as enticement.
There is absolutely no need for yet another Wal-Mart in the NRV...2 is enough already. Let Christiansburg continue to allow the overpopulation of big retail and have Blacksburg support smaller, niche shopping for those of us who care about what we buy and where it was made. Besides, South Main Street could never handle the traffic for Wal-Mart and all the trouble it brings. Does Blacksburg really want to support an employer that exploits women and minorities? That controls global markets?
Blacksburg residents already have relatively easy access to several large stores: Walmart, K-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, etc. We neither need nor welcome another such large store in the town of Blacksburg.
A Wal-Mart or other big box store could ruin our cute downtown area. I have seen something similar happen in my hometown of Martinsville. We do not need a store of this type in Blacksburg- the Christiansburg location is close enough for those that want and need to shop there. We need to stick with original ideas and proposals (such as the walking-distance, independently owned shopping area) for the S. Main location.
Keep Blacksburg a special place. Walmart sucks the life out of local businesses. Stores such as Walmart have already helped to vacate downtown businesses. I live in the neighborhood. I do not think anyone will support having Walmart nearby. If Blacksburg is really a "cool city" it should NOT allow ANY overdevelopment or change of current zoning. In fact all new construction in this area- and others should have to conform to stricter requirements associated with green building. WAKE UP please before all sense of community in Blacksburg disappears.
We have no need for a Wal-Mart, or any other "big box" store in Blacksburg and my family would not patronize such a store. I believe that even 80,000 Sq Ft is too large. This is not the type of development we were told would take place on South Main. What happened to the"mixed use" development with pedestrian friendly areas, greenswards, affordable housing, etc. that were talked about at that infamous Council meeting last fall? Part of the rationale for a South Main development, which was cited by speaker after speaker at that meeting, was to help keep business "down town". In the announcements made to date, that idea seems to have disappeared completely. Why should we allow a few money-hungry developers decide the course which this entire community will follow for generations to come?
there is not need for "big box" stores in Blacksburg. We have to protect our community from these industries. If you want to support these stores, Christiansburg is a short drive away!
S. Main is the only practical link to the north side of town from the project site, and traffic is already bumper to bumper from Eheart St to the north side of campus. We can't widen Main Street nor would we want to if we could, so Wal-Mart (or any other Mega-Box) is a bad idea.
There is no need for a Walmart in Blacksburg. The one in Christiansburg is close enough. Furthermore, there is a public elementary school and a daycare within sight of this area. Our children do not need to be exposed to the traffic and large numbers of strangers who will be drawn to a store like this.
The safety of our children of Blacksburg is what is most important. Putting a SuperStore in between two schools (Beeks and Children's Nest) is not a smart or safety conscious idea.
Extraordinarily large retail buildings are not in alignment with current retail structures within the town of Blacksburg. In order to maintain a continuity of scale and structure, this ordinance should be put into immediate action. The original proposal, which I support, already fell short in mitigating the increased traffic this type of project would generate. The addition of a super store would only make a moderate problem a severe problem, one that the taxpayers ultimately will end up paying for when South Main Street will require a major upgrade.
I support the proposed ordinance 1450. The initial development plans for this area of town, as announced in the local media, suggested other
land uses than bringing in a big-box retailer with two outlets at near-by locations. The latest development plan changes for this land would negatively affect a public elementary school, existing local businesses,
and surrounding neighborhoods of established homes.
It takes 10 minutes to get to the huge superstores in Christiansburg, we don't need more in Blacksburg. Our local businesses are struggling enough without competition from a Wal-Mart in town. Support small business!
The Planning Commission approved construction of all the town houses on Whipple Drive and have made a major mistake - let not make another one by letting a Wal-Mark come into our area. The one at Christiansburg is close enough.
I support this ordinance! The process surrounding the development of this store/complex has been unclear and suspicious and I feel that would have been avoided if permits had been applied for.
This big box store would be located near Margret Beeks Elementary School. The traffic would be very unsafe for our children. The Ordinance needs to be passed.
Not only is the integrity of the neighborhood at risk, so is Margaret Beeks Elementary School. So far, MCPS has managed to keep its schools out of heavily commercial areas, but the traffic alone for a large retail center would create havoc on Country Club Road and at Beeks. In addition, safety in schools is an issue we must all take into consideration. Please surround Beeks with residences not high profile, traffic heavy super centers!
It's really nice to have Blacksburg the way it is. Supporting local businesses and the community is important; another big box store isn't. Please keep things the way they are!
