To the editor:

Wednesday’s headline “Wal-Mart plan gets bounced” announced the proposal was rejected by the City Commission, 3-2. Without reading the article, you knew who the three dissenting votes were: our bloc of three commissioners. It sounds like the Wal-Mart developers have gone overboard to meet the Planning Commission’s and City Commission’s concerns but still this bloc of three rejected the plan.

One stumbling block seems to be Sixth Street and its ability to handle the added traffic, yet in the last few days the Journal-World ran an article about the possible future development of a large area at Sixth Street (U.S. Highway 40) and Kansas Highway 10. Sounds like that will add a whole lot more traffic to Sixth Street than one Wal-Mart store.

A second concern seems to be the need to “hide” the cars in the parking lot from view from the street. C’mon! It’s a shopping center. Do these three need to reinvent the wheel? A shopping center requires cars. Everyone knows that. Look at the two shopping areas across Sixth Street from the proposed Wal-Mart. Why must Wal-Mart “hide” their cars?

It’s time the city voters decide at the next City Commission elections whether they want this bloc of three to continue running their town or vote in some new commissioners that have a bit broader view on city expansion.

Harlan Miller,

Lawrence