Updated 12/13/2006 09:13 AM
Neighbors say Wal-Mart will force them to move out
Some people living near a proposed super Wal-Mart in North Austin say they'll move out if the world's larges retailer moves in.
A two-story, 24-hour Super Wal-Mart is planned for the site of Northcross Mall at Burnet Road and Anderson Lane.
Neighbors say the area can't handle the traffic.
"This really isn't a fight about Wal-Mart. The fight is about a
development that is 220,000 square feet, operating 24 hours a day on Anderson Lane. I just don't know how these streets are going to handle that type of traffic," Shelia Reiter said.
Reiter lives at the intersection of Shoal Creek and Foster Lane. The distance between her house and the planned development is three-tenths of a mile, but there are those who will live even closer.
Cari Cane moved to the area in September, and said she'll be "literally, right across the street from the store."
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"I have lived in Austin all my life and frequented Northcross since when I was a kid and definitely hoped to see something different going in there," Cane said.
According to the city, both Anderson Lane and Burnet Road are classified as major roadways, with 20,000 to 30,000 cars traveling on them each day.
The majority of homes surrounding the new Wal-Mart will be west and east of Shoal Creek and east of Burnet.
"It belongs on a highway. Put it on MoPac, put it on I-35, on 183, but not smack in the middle of a neighborhood," Reiter said.
The supercenter will live up to its name. The 219,000-square-foot store will be the size of Cabela's in Buda and the H-E-B on Burnet combined.
If the Wal-Mart gets built, both Cari and Chelsea know exactly what they're going do - move.