Smart Growth Would be Progress

This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I tackle the problem that New Albany deals with with empty buildings and continued development when there seems to be no true plan.

SMART GROWTH WOULD BE PROGRESS

Several months ago the Sonic Drive-in restaurant in the 2500 block of Charlestown Road closed down literally overnight. Besides depriving me of “half price Happy Hour” slushees from 2-4 weekdays, it also has brought a little more blight to a neighborhood. Along with the vacant building and broken signage, trash and debris are beginning to pile up around the parking lot.

A few weeks ago just a block away, the electronic reader board at the Taco Tico announced that it was now closed and invited people to visit their Louisville location. That restaurant had been open a relatively short amount of time, they had remodeled an old Kentucky Fried Chicken that had moved further out Charlestown Road.

The now empty Taco Tico sits right next door to a former Taco Bell that has sat empty for many years. It had a short spin as a Mr. Spaghetti but that didn't last long. The property remains uncared for most of the year with a crew coming out a couple times a year to mow down the weeds, I always assume a Real Estate agent has a client on the hook and they are preparing to “show” the property. On the other side sits a Wendy's restaurant that has been trying to move down the road for a number of years.

The Colonial Manor shopping center sits across the street and is just now receiving a new major tenant. Save a Lot grocery is planning on opening in the building that has sat mostly vacant since Kroger moved out years ago.

Our community along with every community around needs new developments in order to grow. An expanded tax base along with the jobs that would be created would also be a huge benefit. Here in New Albany and Floyd County we need our growth to be a little smarter than it has been in years past. We can no longer accept the consequences of growth without the proper planning and forethought in order to keep from making the same mistakes, over and over again.

Our county leaders have been trying for years to try to develop land on Grant Line Road adjacent to Sam Peden Community Park. I am sure that if the economy had not gone sour a few years back they would have already sold the property and black top would already be covering one of the largest parcels of “green space” left in the area.

What would our county leaders do with the few million dollars that they plan to earn from the sale of this property? They might use it remodel the former Pine View School that they purchased to house the Floyd County Youth Shelter. They could use the money on the third trial of that state trooper who killed his family. They could use the money for expanding and running the Floyd County Jail, no conflict there, Mr. President. Whatever they spend the money on, when it is gone, it's gone.

After the land is developed and the grass is no longer there, it will never come back again. It will forever be a strip mall or a box store or an empty building that sits and gathers trash. Of course I am sure that drainage will no longer be a problem, since we always trust our developers to manage the extra runoff water so well.

Leaders of our Parks Department are also concerned that developing the land near the entrance of the park will ruin the aesthetics of the park. With many people disposable incomes taking a hit these days, sometimes a day at the park has to be a substitute for spending our limited entertainment dollars. On a nice sunny weekend, you can see families enjoying every corner of the park. We must stand strong and not let our County leaders sell this most valuable asset, just to make a fast buck.

Strategic planning has never been a strong point in this community. We have made some progress in the last few years, but we have decades to make up for. I am not against progress and I can understand the importance of expanding our tax base but we cannot continue to allow developers to build without looking to how it will affect our future.

I do not know what is in store for the futures of Grantline and Charlestown Road. A decade from now, I would love to drive down those streets and not see empty fast food restaurants and empty strip malls. Keeping our green space “green” is a step in the right directions, I just hope that our leaders get the message before it's too late.