Business & Tech

Petition Drive Opposes Walmart Grocery Store in South County

A Walmart Neighborhood Market on at Tesson Ferry and Butler Hill roads is not needed, not wanted and too disruptive, says petition drive coordinator Maryann Gregory.

When Patch mentioned that a Walmart Neighborhood Market was being proposed near the intersection of Tesson Ferry and Butler Hill roads, some readers were less than enthused. It is, after all, the second proposed for the area after the approval of a new store in Kenrick Plaza.

"We are one of the youngest couples in the area and we don't want Walmart to ruin the quiet lifestyle my elder neighbors have.. We love using Schnucks and also if we need something from Walmart there are already 3 locations within mins!!!!" reader Mike Bockhoff said.

Now a "sweet little old lady from Mayberry" is fighting to keep the retail behemoth away from her neighborhood.

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"We don't need another grocery store in this area," Maryann Gregory said. "We don't need the traffic. We don't need the noise. We don't need our property values to decline."

Gregory also said a 24/7 business operation like a Walmart Neighborhood Market will bring crime to the neighborhood.

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Gregory and four others have been circulating petitions opposting the project, which they believe is an intrusion in their neighborhood.

Gregory says there already is too much traffic in the area and the Walmart Neighborhood Market would bring more.

"Walmart did the traffic study and (it) says there is no traffic here. I beg to differ," Gregory said. "Did they do it at three o'clock in the morning?"

Gregory said there are two grocery stores and three mini-marts in the area in the area without the addition of another one by Walmart.

"Why are they trying to put a grocery store near all these other stores?" Gregory said. "We don't need it."

Gregory is proud of her neighborhood and is afraid the Walmart grocery store operation will disrupt the peaceful nature of her street.

"The best way to describe it is Mayberry," she said.

Gregory has been in touch with St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger's office about the Walmart proposal, but has not talked with him personally. Patch also was unable to reach Stenger for a comment on the Walmart plan.

"This place is on fire," Gegory said. "It would be good for (Stenger) to come out here and show his face. I'm just telling it like it is."

The straight-talking Gregory also wants to make it clear she has nothing against Walmart as a company, only the disruption a Walmart grocery store will bring to her neighborhood, where many of the residents have lived for 40 years or more.

"I don't have a thing against Walmart. I'm not anti-Walmart," Gregory said. "I go to Walmart myself. It's just the neighborhood I'm concerned about. We all want to stay here until God takes us home."

Do you think a Walmart Neighborhood Grocer is right for South County? Do you think it's a good location for a new grocery store? Tell us in the comments.

 

Read more about South County grocers:

  • New Walmart Grocer Proposed in South County
  • Community Group Targets Space for Potential Trader Joe's Location
  • Letter-Writing Effort to Bring Trader Joe's to South County Still Has Steam
  • Another South County Grocery Store Bites the Dust: Affton's Save-A-Lot Closing
  • Shrewsbury Board Approves Walmart TIF


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