[Regarding “Costco Withdraws Application for Highly Anticipated Asheville Location,” Feb. 19, Asheville Watchdog via Xpress, and “Costco Dropped Asheville Application Without ‘Any Sort of Discussion’ on Traffic Analysis, NCDOT Says,” Feb. 19, Asheville Watchdog:]
Large companies should pay to mitigate projected traffic problems and other infrastructure concerns when they move into an area. These companies also expand the tax base, and that has to be taken into consideration as to how much they are required to pay.
Smokey Park Highway needs to be improved, and I wonder if more could have been done to work with Costco. One article alludes to other “hoops” that the city has been requiring Costco to jump through that also soured the deal. The article reads as if Costco just got tired of all the roadblocks put up to allow it to bring its store to this area…