Build a park, not a supermarket

I am not against grocery stores expanding their business and providing more employment for the people of our community, but please do not bring them into our back yards. I am happy to drive a few miles for myself and others to buy groceries.

There are three large grocery stores within a one-mile radius and another super-grocery store within three miles. Bringing another grocery store will have a toll on one of the existing stores. They will have to close, and as such it will not bring in any extra revenue to the county economy.

I have a suggestion for our Columbia County commissioners and for people who have difficulty with driving two to three miles to buy groceries from the existing Kroger on Washington Road. For commissioners, I suggest the county buy the land where Kroger is planning to build, and convert that land into a recreation park similar to the one built off River Watch Parkway near Stevens Creek Road. This will not only satisfy the current owners of the land, who are eager to sell, but also will provide us with a place where people could spend family time together, walk, jog or exercise, thus reducing the burden of obesity that our society has. I think we should work toward this rather than bringing everything at an arm's length.

For those who want a grocery store in their back yards, I promise to deliver their groceries once a week for as long as they want me to do the job. But, please, do not bring a grocery store in our peaceful and quiet neighborhood. This will overcrowd the already-crowded Evans-to-Locks and Furys Ferry roads.

Iqbal Khan, Martinez