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Sunday, October 2, 2005

Two Wrongs

Growing up, I was taught that two wrongs don't make a right. I don't think this was a lesson passed down only in my family. I think a lot of families try to instill messages of this kind.

Lately, I'm beginning to wonder. It doesn't appear that Salem Mayor Janet Taylor or any of her merry men were taught such things.

Case in point -- Keizer Station. This new mega-development on the outskirts of Keizer is sure to hurt many Salem downtown businesses and Keizer businesses along River Rd. It will pull people away from each ciy's core which will mean more people driving more vehicles more often and for more miles. If all this wasn't bad enough, most of the stores that will populate Keizer Station are not local businesses, but big chains.

With all this in mind, one would think that the Salem City Council would decide to make a stronger commitment to downtown Salem to mitigate the future effects of Keizer Station. Unfortunately, the Council is discussing doing the EXACT opposite. Instead of focusing on downtown business, the Council has decided to consider putting a mega-development ACROSS I-5 from Keizer Station.

This would mean even more people driving more vehicles more often and for more miles away from our city's center and away from our shiny new convention center.

As national columnist Dave Barry often writes, I'm not making this up.

1 comment:

  1. i live in keizer and let me just say that the keizer station is going to be great for the city of keizer!

    ReplyDelete

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