City Council has decided to reassess the proposed building of a Walmart on Assembly Street in order to address potential concerns regarding the infamous Rocky Branch Creek.
Concerns regarding a Walmart in close proximity to the creek arose, as many cited worries of increased potential for flooding. So, now there’s a committee to determine what should be done in order to improve the creek to prevent future flooding, as well as decide whether or not building a new Walmart makes sense.
Mayor Steve Benjamin said should significant improvements be made, such as a greenway along the creek, the Walmart looks less likely. We applaud the mayor for putting flood prevention ahead of a Walmart developer, but don’t necessarily think the two are mutually exclusive.
Regardless of Walmart, the flooding must be addressed. Many local businesses, as well as many students living off campus, suffered a significant amount of damage because of the creek overflowing. So we’re a little irked that it took the possibility of a Walmart for the council to even consider improvements to prevent future issues.
We applaud the proposals for certain improvements, but don’t necessarily think that the improvements mean Walmart cannot come to downtown Columbia. Clearly, the current creek infrastructure is inadequate, but the city should improve the creek with future development in mind, not simply make it adequate for the status quo.
If creek improvements aren’t enough to support the new Walmart, whether or not they end up building it, then we’ll be disappointed that the city didn’t go far enough and simply kicked the can down the road.
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