When we discovered our new little piece of heaven we were thrilled with being back in the country, yet having some shops and medical services nearby. Evidently lots of other folks feel the same way and we will quickly (I fear) be surrounded by Everywhere Suburbia, USA.
Truthfully, the writing was on the wall. We just chose to overlook it. For example, the road outside our development is a 4-lane highway, with practically no traffic most times of the day. Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Target and other shops/restaurants are only 4 miles, and 2 stoplights, away. I guess they didn't build it just for my convenience! All I can think of is, "Build it and they will come!"
Key to the map
Yellow Star: our house on top, center, and shops on the right
Red Circles: existing stop lights. The entrance to our community is at the red dot on the left side of the picture.
Green speech bubble above the highway: cute cows that were there five months ago, and have now been displaced by earthmovers and machinery paving the way for more big box stores.
Green speech bubble below the highway: cute cows and donkeys, with a sign out front indicating that they are grazing on borrowed time on commercial property that is for sale.
Pink speech bubble labeled "Trouble": site of the exit ramp for the Suncoast Parkway with a new stoplight standing between me and the stores. It's due to open any day.
Shrouded stop lights up ahead.
The boom truck on the left is installing directional highway signs
The Suncoast Parkway is a toll road that runs from our area to Tampa. Even though this particular exit hasn't been opened...yet... the toll road has been convenient to hop on and proceed to Tampa on a direct route with less traffic. I'm thinking lots of folks will appreciate the easy access to a speedier commute. The new exit will dump all northbound vehicles onto the four lane highway, until they construct the flyover and extend the toll road to the north. How serendipitous to have our development, with over 3,000 empty lots right at the end of the proverbial rainbow! Not to mention other communities in all directions. It reminds me of billboards I've seen, "If you lived here you'd be home by now!"
Yikes! Traffic outside our area, including the main entrance/through road in our development, is going to be a snarl of cars and trucks in the future. Ugh! At least we are nestled in an area with larger lots, on a road that really isn't convenient to use as shortcut. There is some satisfaction to be gained from that.
What a shame. At least you are situated in a spot that will be less affected, but still a shame.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, do I feel your pain. We moved to our little patch of paradise, we lived on a well-maintained dirt road traveled only by people who lived on the county road. Then one of our county commissioners sold one of his pieces of property to a gas/oil company. Suddenly, we've got a paved road and high-speed, high-volume traffic. Add to it the urban sprawl because people can't afford to live in Boulder North (aka Fort Collins), and I feel like the walls are closing in. Luckily, we're surrounded by city-owned corn fields that are very unlikely to be sold to developers, because then the city that owns it (not one in our county) would lose their water rights.
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