As recently reported in the Washington Post, Wal-Mart and the developer JBG Rosenfeld are planning to build a Wal-Mart in one of the busiest and congested locations on Rockville Pike in Montgomery County. Never mind that in this particular location there are already big-box stores and ample shopping, including a Target right next store, a Best Buy a few blocks north, a Trader Joe's across the street, a Harris Teeter just south, and plenty of other shopping. From this perspective then the reason for another big-box store cannot be justified. But there are more important reasons to oppose this particular Wal-Mart.

Most people who live or travel everyday on this part of the pike would have to agree that putting a Wal-Mart in this location will only exacerbate an already terrible traffic situation. While Wal-Mart says it plans to have underground parking at this location, what about all of the cars that will be driven to this location? That will add more congestion and pollution. But the real problem with this Wal-Mart location, and the other one being planned less than 3 miles away in Aspen Hill is Wal-Mart itself. A Rockville Pike Wal-Mart will displace a family run Bagel shop that has been at that location for decades. It will likely also have a negative impact on many of the smaller local businesses in the surrounding area.

While the Rockville Pike location is already zoned for big-box stores, the Aspen Hill location is not, and there is a bill pending with the County Council that would require big-box stores to do much more in Community Outreach and planning. Of course, the big-box stores adamantly oppose such a bill.

Wal-Mart has attempted to play up its Community Outreach and Environmental Stewardship deeds over the past several years, but their record speaks for itself, and no amount of PR and Media spin can change that. Wal-Mart has a terrible record when it comes to employee treatment and benefits. They recently announced they were reducing already mediocre benefits for their part-time employees, and they were a defendant in a recent class-action lawsuit filed by thousands of female Wal-Mart employees.

When it comes to employers, Montgomery County can do better than Wal-Mart, and they should seek out employers that value their employees and the local community. Montgomery County is being very short-sighted if they think Wal-Mart is going to seriously make a difference in the amount of jobs it adds with these planned locations. They only need to look at what has happened to other communities when Wal-Mart came to their towns. It will be a sad day for Montgomery County if Wal-Mart opens its doors on the Pike or in Aspen Hill.