Wal Mart Comes to Pass

by Gail Paparian

While it is a foregone conclusion that the Beaumont Planning Commission, then the City Council of Beaumont will welcome Wal Mart with open arms, I wonder if the decision makers in Beaumont have considered ALL of the implications if Wal Mart comes to town.

Can the communities of Banning & Beaumont afford - - or even want to see Stater Brothers, Albertsons, Food 4 Less and 2 Ace Hardware stores among others be forced out of our communities?  I seriously hope not!

I live in Sun Lakes and fortunately, there are many forward thinking people who recognize the substantial impact that this proposed Wal Mart….  at it’s present proposed site will have upon the people who have chosen to reside in this subdivision. However, that said, there are other people who are ready to welcome “Wally World” with open arms.

To those folks, I suggest purchasing the best pair of walking shoes that they can afford. You’ll need them, as driving on Highland Avenue and surrounding streets will be impossible, impassable and unsafe--- and that’s the traffic part. We have not talked about air quality degradation or increased crime, brought by increased people.

While Highland Springs Avenue is currently experiencing increasing gridlock, I shudder to think how traffic would have circulated had the residents of Sun Lakes not paid for the railroad overpass. In a sense, this fee, which continues to appear on our tax bill, is a general user fee; available to all and still funded by Sun Lakes residents.

All this said, I know that residents of this Pass Area need more expansive and diverse choices for shopping. It still pains me, and is costly to drive 20 plus miles each way to shop, dine or seek entertainment or other services

I need to know how the City of Beaumont plans to mitigate the following:

1-                 Traffic – including emergency ingress and exit from Sun Lakes and surrounding residential areas;

2-                 Air quality degradation seriously enhanced he number of diesel trucks needed to service Wal Mart

3-                 Loss of revenue to the City of Banning.

 Infrastructure costs big buck$! At the end of the day, if everybody isn’t a winner, something is wrong. While I wish City of Beaumont success in providing infrastructure needs to its plethora of new residents, it should not be accomplished on the backs and to the disservice of neighboring Banning.

While I could find no documentation that Wal Mart actually eats its young, be careful what you ask for… you just might get it.

 (Note:  I had planned to make these remarks at the upcoming Beaumont Planning Commission meeting on January 27, 2004. Instead, I have opted for brain numbing surgery to face the future with a clear head!)