Letter: Rampant growth hits Battle Ground
Monday, April 30, 2012
It’s perplexing how cities in Clark County try to repair the damage that this recession has caused. I may be only 17 years old, but seeing new shopping centers, business plazas, etc., pop up when there are already so many unused lots and other failed experiments, doesn’t make sense.
Wouldn’t it be better to support the core of a city before branching out? In Battle Ground, this is a problem. The Battle Ground Village, the Gardner Center, the Battle Ground Plaza, Old Town Battle Ground, Southeast First Street and South Parkway are all problem areas.
Businesses cycle through every six months and the businesses there are usually of poor quality. Instead of fixing these problems, a new shopping/commercial center is being built west of Highway 503 at Eaton Boulevard. The hope is that a big-ticket store will move in and provide jobs and some tax dollars. While this makes a degree of sense, how will other struggling regions benefit? How will the east side improve from new businesses in the south?
Would it not be better to fix what we have before spending time, effort and money on another possibly doomed expenditure? Grow from the inside out, Battle Ground.
Jordan Hamann
Battle Ground
