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Land near the Wilderness battlefield may be used for a big-box store. |
Tonight, the Orange County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed Wilderness Wal-Mart.
Why go to this trouble when three supervisors have stated they support the project, no matter what the public might say?
Despite a campaign by Wal-Mart supporters to paint opponents as liberal outsiders, there is indeed opposition to this project from Orange County residents.
I've lived in Locust Grove for more than 12 years and in Virginia for more than 40 years. A Wal-Mart can be built almost anywhere, but our historic resources are irreplaceable.
Just because the intersection contains a McDonald's does not mean we should bring in the highest level of development possible.
There are other, better places to build the Wal-Mart, and there are other, better uses for the land at Wilderness.
As Supervisor Teri Pace has suggested, building across from Lake of the Woods makes more sense. There is already similar scale development in that area, the roads are better situated to absorb the increased traffic, and the stores would be closer to the county's largest population center.
The Wilderness intersection is much better suited for hospitality-type resources--hotels, restaurants, a museum, a visitors center--than a big-box retail complex.
We have one chance to do this right. If Wal-Mart and other stores dominate the eastern end of the county, there will be no going back.
It is true that stores will not be built on National Park Service land. The real danger is the pressure the ensuing traffic will have on State Route 20 to grow to four or more lanes, destroying the battlefield that straddles it.
Once the barn door is opened, the horses will run right through it.
Stephen Anderson
Orange
