KENTUCKY SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART COMPOUNDING TRAFFIC PROBLEM

Residents speak out on Wal-Mart [The Cincinnati Enquirer]

Though a yellow smiley face is Wal-Mart’s renowned icon, few people were smiling at the Boone County Planning Commission’s meeting Wednesday night about the SuperCenter the chain wants to build in Florence.

“This thing’s being shoehorned into a residential area,” said Doug Martin, of Florence.

He was one of 23 people who condemned the proposed 184,000-square-foot Wal-Mart at the busy intersection of U.S. 42 and Weaver Road, less than three miles from another Wal-Mart on Houston Road. Currently, the proposed site is nothing but the ashes of a warehouse that burned to the ground in 2004.

After the fire, the commission sought to put the site back in use. Wal-Mart placed the best bid, even offering $1.5 million to improve traffic flow on the two streets. The planning commission authorized several engineering firms to review the traffic problem and propose solutions.

At Wednesday’s meeting, at Burlington Elementary School, the engineers laid out their plans: synchronize the stoplights on the two streets and add another light at the entrance to Wal-Mart. They also recommended adding left-turn-only lanes at the intersection. The engineers said that their plan would “maintain or improve” the traffic flow at the intersection even after the store is built.

The city of Florence must annex and re-zone the site before Wal-Mart can start construction.

Opponents of the project argued that a Wal-Mart would only make traffic worse at the intersection.

Jeff Ship, an attorney representing Boone County Citizens for Responsible Growth, blasted the proposal. “You’re not solving the problem, you’re compounding the problem,” he said, drawing applause from most of the 100 residents attending. “I find that flabbergasting.”

Many attendees echoed that sentiment, including Michelle Evans, of Florence.

“Wal-Mart needs to go somewhere else,” she said. “If you want this (store), by God you’re going to lose residents.”

Cindy Hudson, of Florence, presented the commissioners with a petition against the superstore that she said had 4,007 signatures on it. She said she collected many more at the meeting.

Traffic wasn’t the only misgiving residents expressed. Many lambasted Wal-Mart as a virus that kills small businesses and communities in general.

“A dollar spent at Wal-Mart leaves the area. A dollar spent at a local business stays in the local area,” said Cincinnati Attorney Tim Mara. “Wal-Mart is the antithesis of local.”

He also said that Wal-Marts are “magnets” for crime, saying that the company store on Houston Road had more than 600 calls to 911 in 13 months.

Mara also criticized the engineers, saying that they didn’t account for other variables, such as new suburban developments, which could add more cars to the already strained streets.

John Baxter, of Florence, said that Wal-Mart admits that more than half of its work force does not receive benefits. He said those aren’t the jobs Florence should be bringing in.

Nevertheless, six of the attendees defended the proposed Wal-Mart.

“It would allow for a very strong upgrade of the area,” said Brian Halls, of Madeira, Ohio.

Richard Wentz, of Fort Mitchell, said that the Wal-Mart would draw customers to surrounding businesses and bring in jobs.

The commission will send the results of the town-hall meeting to the zoning-change committee, which will then report its findings to the commissioners at a meeting Aug. 15 at 5 p.m. in the Boone County Fiscal Courtroom. From there, the commissioners will send a recommendation to the Florence City Council on whether it should proceed with Wal-Mart’s proposal.

Wal-Mart owns 15 SuperCenters in Greater Cincinnati and is building three more, one each in Fairfax, Colerain Township and Cleves, Ohio. If approved, the second Florence store would open in 2009.