Sprawl Enabler
A few weeks ago I was cycling home from St Agatha, and I wanted mayonnaise (natch). Erb St is really bad around Fischer-Hallman these days, so I have been cycling down Ira Needles Boulevard (!) to Victoria. On Ira Needles there are a lot of box stores anchored by a Wal-Mart. I thought I would be clever and shop there for cheap unethical mayonnaise.
I bought three jars (!) and then I saw the sign. It was on a vacant lot (aka a field) just behind the Wal-Mart. "Your store could be here!" it proclaimed. Of course your store could be here, just like all of the other big box stores that have been built on farmer's fields. By shopping at this Wal-Mart (as opposed to one in a more built-up part of town, like the one at Bridgeport and Weber) I was sending a message that I wanted more big box stores and more urban sprawl. Bleams Road and Highland are both doomed -- the Stantec signs are sprouting up like poisonous mushrooms. On the one hand I say I want the countryside line, and on the other my actions contribute to destroying it.