Residents oppose convenience store special-use permit

To the editor:

We are opposed to having a gas station near our residences. The Planning and Zoning Commission recently approved a special-use permit for a convenience store at the southeast corner of Sprigg Street and Highway 74. Five residents spoke in opposition, and the pastor of the Cape Girardeau Church of God had a letter signed by 27 members. The board didn't ask to see the letter.

We would like to approach this matter from a standpoint other than the noise, violence and the dragging down of property values that are likely to occur. We would like the city council to consider the traffic congestion that will be caused by autos traveling west on Highway 74 and turn south onto Sprigg and then cross two lanes of traffic to get to the convenience store. If council members would view this area, they would certainly understand the danger and bottleneck that will result.

The city has already had two blunders: the roundabout and the intersection at Mount Auburn Road and Independence Street. Additional money has been and is being spent to correct these errors, but it doesn't take an engineer to see that there is no way to fix the traffic pattern if the convenience store is permitted at Sprigg and Highway 74.

We beseech the city council to consider this issue on the basis of need, safety and the fact that this area has been experiencing a rebirth of one of this city's oldest residential neighborhoods.

ELDON NATTIER, MARY E. SKELTON, DEVON LANGSTON, PATSY LANGSTON, CHARLES LANGSTON, the REV. JOHN GOFF, SHARON GOFF, MICHAEL SEDLOCK, JAMES F. COLEY, BILLIE NEWSOM and DWAYNE WINEMILLER

Cape Girardeau