In the five years I was at VT, I saw the beautiful small town get a little bit bigger each year. Bad enough that Kent Square and high rents have led to so many vacancies along College and Main. A Walmart could very well kill off the vibrant walking town that so many thousands of Hokies and townies alike have come to love.
Blacksburg has that small town feel that would be ruined if a big box store moved into town. They already exist minutes away in Christiansburg! Starbucks is one thing, but WalMart is a whole different ballgame!
There are so many problems with this proposal: increased traffic, tractor trailers driving through blacksburg on a daily basis, there's already one in christiansburg, the threat to local businesses, and it goes on and on.
Although I am one of users of Walmart, I don't want to have it in our Blacksburg. I saw the Walmart DVD and had sad feelings about small retail shop owners who shut down their shops and employees who had hard time getting insurance and minimum wages. So I don't want to have big-box shops here in Blacksburg.
Blacksburg is Blacksburg. Don't let Walmart ruin what we have in this town! Not only is it a traffic issue, it will also ruin the local business through all the small stores along main street. Dont waste it!
WalMart is anti-worker and anti-community. As noted by others, there are already two of them within a short driving distance. No need for that blight in Blacksburg.
Part of the charm of blacksburg is that there are no big-box retailers here. Christiansburg is less then a 10 min drive, and is already the established commercial center of the county
Wal-Mart already has a supercenter in Christiansburg and in Fairlawn. Moreover, this kind of development would fundamentally and irreversibly alter the nature of the community for the worse.
We can travel 10 minutes down the road for anything we need. Please do not ruin the aura of the town for something that doesn't make financial or strategical sense.
Wal-Mart's are notorious for driving out small businesses. The whole reason Blacksburg is great is it's downtown area with all the small businesses. It would be irresponsible to allow a Wal-Mart to come into Blacksburg. It would be a death knell for our town and wonderful businesses who actually care about this town.
i went to blacksburg to drop my brother off at school after christmas break. the town is great just the way it is. it's a small university town, and that's what makes it appealing. walmart will only add congestion to the streets. if blacksburg got along without a walmart this long, they really don't need it. it will only drive the ma and pa shops out of business.
No to WalMart,no to any other big business,there is no reason for it Blacksburg is a beautiful small town,and does not need the headaches associated with this kind of business.It is unacceptable to even consider it.
I still can't believe this issue is happening. It's ridiculous to have a Walmart in Blacksburg for countless reasons. We cannot allow Walmart and other big businesses to bully citizens around. Is that really the American way? Now, it appears so. I've always questioned authority and this makes me question our 'democracy' now more than ever.
Don't reduce the small town charm of Blacksburg to the cookie-cutter character (or lack-thereof) of American suburbia. Keep big box stores out to keep quality of life high.
The small store charm and individuality of Blacksburg was a significant reason for my choosing to live there originally as well as why I chose to stay for many years after completing my degree, and why I chose to return to Blacksburg after graduate school. We do not need another "Anywhere America" with the all too familiar big-box stores. Please help to preserve the unique culture of Blacksburg by passing this ordinance.
The Wal-Mart is christiansburg is enough. Blacksburg's charm comes from its small business base. If you want a prime example of what Wal-Mart does to a community with a small town charm, look no further then augusta county. Both Staunton and Waynesboro now have Wal-marts. Staunton got it's wally world close to fifteen years ago, and just now it has managed loosen the stranggle hold and the community, and largely because it is surrounded by state property and stores that the community had before Wal-Mart that were thriving before Wal-Mart came in and continue despite Wal-Mart's presence. Waynesboro however has sold its soul to jumpstart it's economy and is now paying the price. the only growth in the community is the area surrounding Wal-Mart. The property owners surrounding it have been continuely bullied out their property and Wal-Mart has repeatedly broken promises to help drainage and prevent pollution caused by their massive changes to the surrounding area.
