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Area has enough big-box shopping

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published January 8, 2007

Re: Wal-Mart may get rival nearby Jan. 5 story

Here we go again. A developer from outside Hernando County has decided to pounce on an opportunity to ruin our community to make a few bucks.

With the county being centrally located to Tampa, it is impossible to stop development, but it appears that our local government agencies have no power or desire to intervene to protect our quality of life. They refuse to follow the comprehensive plan set up to adequately plan development while easily yielding to private business interests and campaign contributors.

More shopping centers will be needed as the county population continues to grow at its presently alarming pace, but also required are more roads, schools, government offices, etc. Where is the planning for those vital necessities that dictate the quality of life in a community? If you keep letting the area be absorbed in private development, it will become impossible to accommodate these requirements.

The location for the new county "shopping nexus" is in the middle of a mostly residential area, with the only major highway being the Suncoast Parkway (an intercounty thoroughfare, not a local road). This area already experiences high traffic volume because of its proximity to the parkway.

I am absolutely sickened at the thought of additional shopping center traffic finding its way onto our two-lane roads. Traffic seems to have quadrupled in the past year with all of the nearby new housing developments. It already is unsafe to walk my dogs or have children anywhere near the roadway because of the traffic. I have to check my mail late at night because I fear getting hit by a car (my mailbox is on the opposite side of the street). I requested to have the mailbox moved but was told by the post office that this area is a "rural route." How rural can it be when I will soon be blinded by the glare of giant parking lot lighting across the street?

A smaller shopping plaza would be more suited to our residential area rather than an enormous big-box monstrosity.

Having grown up in Pinellas County, I have already been plagued by the problems created with inadequate planning and unrestricted development: Massive traffic congestion, increased crime, overcrowded schools, insufficient government services, etc. Foolishly, I thought I had escaped that by moving to what appeared to be a family-friendly, small-town-feel community. I will be moving again if Hernando County insists on ruining this once-idyllic community instead of preserving it.

Karrie Miller, Brooksville

Quality building is welcome here

I have an idea that will surely solve the transportation problems in Hernando County. Put barbed wire across Interstate 75 at the county lines, as well as at the Suncoast Parkway, U.S. 41 and U.S. 19. Follow that up with an additional section of fence across State Road 50 at the east county line, and that should pretty much cover it.

Ridiculous? Of course it is. But that is the attitude many are expressing to control growth in Hernando County.

We are not going to stop it because we live in a beautiful place. The beauty is what brought most of us here, and it is what is going to bring tens of thousands more. We need to properly manage it.

When a quality developer like Sierra Properties comes to town with a well-planned project like Hickory Hill, we need to welcome it with open arms. These folks have experience and know how to do things right.

Commissioners, please do the right thing and approve Hickory Hill.

Arnold Akroyd, Spring Hill

[Last modified January 8, 2007, 06:45:18]