Vote No on the Highway 85 Extension
by Victoria Vail, Tribune staff writer
Next week, the city council will consider a proposal to extend Highway 85 by 10 miles. A small coalition of real estate developers have hurried this proposal forward, hoping to capitalize on state tax breaks and reassuring the city that their intentions are good. In truth, however, the proposed extension would hurt our community. It would be bad for downtown businesses, bad for families, and bad for the environment.
Bad for Downtown Businesses
Developers claim that the land west of town is ripe to be turned into a combined retail/residential area. They say that the extension of Highway 85 would give shoppers access to a greater variety of stores. In truth, though, we already have a great variety of stores downtown—over 200 of them. Many of these businesses have been hurting for several years due to the neglect of the Exit 10 overpass, which has made driving difficult. Extending Highway 85 would give shoppers a reason to avoid downtown altogether—likely dooming many small businesses and leaving buildings vacant. However, the overpass could be repaired at a fraction of the cost of the highway extension. This small investment in city infrastructure would be good for businesses and shoppers alike.
To understand why extending Highway 85 would be bad for downtown businesses, we need to consider the argument presented in the article. According to the article, developers claim that extending the highway would benefit the town by creating a combined retail/residential area, providing shoppers with access to a greater variety of stores. However, the author counters this claim by stating that there is already a wide variety of stores downtown, with over 200 businesses. These businesses have been struggling due to the neglect of the Exit 10 overpass, making driving difficult.
The author suggests that instead of extending the highway, repairing the Exit 10 overpass would be a more cost-effective solution. This investment in city infrastructure would not only benefit businesses but also provide shoppers with easier access to downtown stores. By presenting this argument, the author makes the case that extending the highway would lead to shoppers avoiding downtown altogether, resulting in the closure of many small businesses and the subsequent vacancy of buildings.
So, to summarize, extending Highway 85 would be bad for downtown businesses because it would potentially divert shoppers away from the existing stores, causing them to suffer financially. Repairing the Exit 10 overpass would be a better solution as it would benefit both businesses and shoppers.
1. The city council will consider a proposal to extend Highway 85 by 10 miles.
2. Real estate developers are pushing for this extension to take advantage of state tax breaks and assure the city of their good intentions.
3. However, the proposed extension would be detrimental to the community.
4. Developers argue that the extension would benefit downtown businesses by creating a combined retail and residential area west of town and providing shoppers with access to a greater variety of stores.
5. In reality, downtown already has over 200 stores, many of which have been struggling due to the neglected Exit 10 overpass that has made driving difficult.
6. Extending Highway 85 would give shoppers a reason to avoid downtown altogether, leading to the potential closure of many small businesses and vacant buildings.
7. Alternatively, repairing the overpass at a fraction of the cost of the highway extension would be a more beneficial investment in city infrastructure, benefiting businesses and shoppers.