Drippings Springs: Friend of trees?
It was a great disappointment to read the following item about the new Walgreen’s slated for Dripping Springs. "The city has agreed to let Walgreen’s remove many of the 100-plus year old oak trees on the property so the project can move forward."
The quote comes from Realtor Steve Mallett’s website, and since he seems to be generally accurate, I’m writing this on the assumption that the City made such an agreement.
Do we need a Walgreen’s here? Well, many folks will say that we do. So it seems pointless to question whether the chain stores will ever bring their brand of retailing to Dripping Springs; it’s happening now. But in the process, it does seem a bit "backward thinking" to permit this progress to destroy the very beauty that makes the town unique.
Does Walgreen’s absolutely have to destroy the trees in order to build the store? I don’t think so. I’ve looked at that corner (US-290 at Ranch Road 12) very recently . . . . I even drove around the block to see how the store could be placed in order to minimize the destruction. Apparently, the Walgreen’s Corporation didn’t see the corner the way I did.
In my mind, I saw a polite and unique Walgreen’s surrounded and shaded by hundred-year-old trees, a welcoming spot that provided some cool parking spaces for our blisteringly hot summer days. And I saw a store that respected the surroundings in which it had placed its business. And because it had done so, I saw a store brimming with shoppers because of its desire to fit into the town instead of trying to remake the town to fit its corporate headquarters’ demands for uniformity and blandness. We’re probably not going to get that Walgreen’s.
I don’t know about you, but when I drive through Austin (and most every other town in the US), I literally cannot tell the difference between a Walgreen’s and a CVS; apparently, they both use the same architect. Their desire to shout "drugstore!" has worked so well that together, they have homogenized the concept and made each other indistinguishable and unremarkable. Today, if I need something from a drugstore, it matters little whether I am in a Walgreen’s or a CVS. Both stock the same items, so there is no reason for me to be loyal to either.
While I’ve long expected the chain stores to begin their invasion of Dripping Springs, it has occurred faster than I thought it would. One thing about it has disappointed me: I really believed that our City Council, our Chamber of Commerce, and the town’s leadership would exert tremendous pressure on these corporations to abandon for once their insistence on stamping our city with the same mold used everywhere else. I guess I was just foolish for thinking Dripping Springs would be different. So, before a whole lot longer, we should look for CVS to announce its intention to locate within a stone’s throw of the Walgreen’s, and, except for the sign, you won’t be able to tell them apart.
Mind you, I have nothing against either company other than their juggernaut approach to uprooting every tree in their path. Eventually, they will merge, and the country will be left with thousands of look-alike buildings facing each other . . . . but half of them will stand on empty, treeless slabs of concrete. In the meantime, we lose our trees, and, by the way, a lovely hundred-year-old building that caring could have saved.
Michael E. McGown has lived in Sunset Canyon for the last six years and recently completed a term of service with the Hays County Comprehensive Planning Commission.
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