It is our position that lawmakers should reconsider the rezoning of the south east corner of 146th Street and Gray Road for commercial use. The most recent proposal to build a gas station/convenience store on the wooded corner across the street from the historic Gray Friends Church is stirring up rage among neighbors. And rightly so. The proposed construction project is generating concerns for the environment, as well as creating a fear of potential crime often associated with convenience store businesses. Not to mention the surge in traffic that would make an already dangerous intersection even more deadly.
Common sense dictates that the gas station purchase a location up the street at 146th and Hazel Dell Road in an area already zoned for business and equipped with greater accessibility.
For years, safe neighborhoods and good schools seemed to be enough to draw and maintain residents to our quaint, quiet north side. There is good reason people choose to live in bedroom communities as a respite from the rigors of city life. While an attractive source of tax revenue for the city, a gas station does not exactly make an attractive gateway to the currently peaceful, beautiful wooden suburban neighborhoods.