News
Opinion
The proposed ERS development is not good for Eagle. I'm not going to beat the drum about the questionable revenues for the town, which they are, or be appalled at the size of the buildings, the great swaths of asphalt and the otherwise useless-to-the-town freeway exchange, which I am.
These things have been well addressed. Instead, I would ask you to think about the functionality of the town now, and ask yourselves if this development is yet another poor choice.
At one point in time, the post office was located on Broadway — convenient to get to and not requiring a car trip for many people of the town. Inevitably as the town grew, there needed to be a larger post office. Now we have one that is inconvenient for all, causes traffic issues due to its location as well as insufficient parking, as it requires a car trip.
Another major failing in town planning would be the location of the grocery store. The bulk of the residents live on the south side of I-70, and City Market is on the north. Again, more car trips and a traffic mess getting back out onto Eby Creek Road. We now discuss how to remedy these issues and the solutions include millions of dollars to update Eby Creek Road.
The development of Eagle Ranch resulted in many more people living in the town and more cars and car trips, and yet the Highway 6 roundabout was not planned and built as a twolane roundabout. The cost to amend it is equal to the cost to build it in the first place.
These are examples of what happens when there is a lack of real planning for the future of a growing town. We now hear that due to the residential growth of the town, we must have more retail revenue and people want more retail choices. I don't disagree.
What I vehemently disagree with is that town should move forward on a project that is at best, a dying 1990s retail construct that will only disperse our existing sales tax revenues while continuing to damage the best thing Eagle has, its small-town charm.
With proper planning, Eagle could triple its current population and be more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. This would require developing shopping areas where people currently live, not building a mall and condos a car trip down the road a piece.
By working to maintain the beauty and uniqueness of our town, we will be better positioned to market ourselves as a great place to live and to visit. Biking events, a kayaking park, music-arts festivals are but a few of the ways to generate additional revenue for the town.
What Eagle needs is a plan, not a hodge-podge of development that neither fits the town nor truly addresses any of its current challenges and in fact, adds to them. Eagle will continue to grow. We need smart growth. We can and must do better than ERS.
Liz Spetnagel, Eagle
These things have been well addressed. Instead, I would ask you to think about the functionality of the town now, and ask yourselves if this development is yet another poor choice.
At one point in time, the post office was located on Broadway — convenient to get to and not requiring a car trip for many people of the town. Inevitably as the town grew, there needed to be a larger post office. Now we have one that is inconvenient for all, causes traffic issues due to its location as well as insufficient parking, as it requires a car trip.
Another major failing in town planning would be the location of the grocery store. The bulk of the residents live on the south side of I-70, and City Market is on the north. Again, more car trips and a traffic mess getting back out onto Eby Creek Road. We now discuss how to remedy these issues and the solutions include millions of dollars to update Eby Creek Road.
The development of Eagle Ranch resulted in many more people living in the town and more cars and car trips, and yet the Highway 6 roundabout was not planned and built as a twolane roundabout. The cost to amend it is equal to the cost to build it in the first place.
These are examples of what happens when there is a lack of real planning for the future of a growing town. We now hear that due to the residential growth of the town, we must have more retail revenue and people want more retail choices. I don't disagree.
What I vehemently disagree with is that town should move forward on a project that is at best, a dying 1990s retail construct that will only disperse our existing sales tax revenues while continuing to damage the best thing Eagle has, its small-town charm.
With proper planning, Eagle could triple its current population and be more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. This would require developing shopping areas where people currently live, not building a mall and condos a car trip down the road a piece.
By working to maintain the beauty and uniqueness of our town, we will be better positioned to market ourselves as a great place to live and to visit. Biking events, a kayaking park, music-arts festivals are but a few of the ways to generate additional revenue for the town.
What Eagle needs is a plan, not a hodge-podge of development that neither fits the town nor truly addresses any of its current challenges and in fact, adds to them. Eagle will continue to grow. We need smart growth. We can and must do better than ERS.
Liz Spetnagel, Eagle
