My Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I live about six miles from work, but each morning I fight traffic and average a 30 minute commute. At night I cross the exodus from the city and easily spend 30 minutes in furious bumper to bumper traffic. It’s another good 30 minutes after I get home when my blood pressure finally starts to return to normal. Tonight I had to stop by the pharmacy. One frantic clerk worked feverishly to handle two lines – one inside and one in a drive-thru. That wait was, you guessed it, at least 30 minutes.

I live and work in the Washington, DC area. It’s no secret we have some of the worst congestion in the country. Over the past few years, the growth has bubbled way out in all directions. Rolling meadows in Leesburg are now blanketed with “luxury” townhomes and McMansions. My grandfather was an editor and writer at The Washington Star and one of his last printed pieces was in the last edition of the Star when it folded in the early 80’s. I’ve managed to collect a couple copies and often marvel at the final predictions that paper had to offer. The paper spent part of its last edition looking forward at the future of Washington 20 years hence, in the year 2000. One of the most striking predictions to me was that Fairfax, Virginia was likely to grow. (Right on the money.) But the paper went on to insist that Fairfax was well beyond the Washington suburbs and that it would not really be a commuter’s home, perhaps a small satellite town. Anyone who knows Northern Virginia can tell you that now Fairfax is considered a pretty “close in” suburb. It long ago stopped being the “mid-point” of a long-distance commute.

Growth and change, it would seem, are inevitable. But how communities decide to grow and change has an enormous impact on their futures. As the people around me bustle to get to work to fund big houses, clothes and trips, I’m working for the day when I can make my last grueling three to four hour Friday night drive from Washington to my home next to my parents’ house in the Northern Neck.

When you live in the big box world populated with enormous warehouses without anyone to assist you, you start to see the “opportunity” of Wal-Mart in your back yard differently. Yes, Wal-Mart is cheap, and they have lots of stuff. Returning from the Northern Neck last weekend my husband and I stopped at the Wal-Mart in Southern Maryland. Anyone who thinks that Wal-Mart will bring positive things to the community should make a day trip up to St. Mary’s County to see what a Wal-Mart looks like when it’s long in the tooth. This Wal-Mart wasn’t fresh and inviting. It was dirty, unstocked, and unkempt. Its aisles were filled with discarded items, even an unnoticed broken jar of applesauce. As I walked through the store I felt sad to think of this loud, ugly mess marching into such a wonderful community.

Yes, our community needs opportunities. People need good jobs and access to the things that make our lives easier. I, for one, would like somewhere to have a baby in a couple of years. But where will this community be in 20 years? In 2026 will we look back at these papers and marvel at how the community that inspired people to stay here for centuries and come here for those same qualities has been overrun with undesirable things? When I bring my daughter home from whatever far-flung hospital will she grow up and head off in search of greener pastures?

The choice of growth is not black or white, there are infinite shades of grey. Many other retail and business opportunities exist if we are willing to weigh our options.

Sincerely,

Arlington and Mila, VA