New Walmart Planned for Byram

Byram Mayor Richard White announced recently that we would be getting a Walmart in Byram. I don't mind having a Walmart, but two things bother me about the way it's being done, and I hope that they bother you, too:

1) The location. They want to build it on the southwest corner of the intersection of Siwell Road and Terry Road, where Byram Middle School used to be. There is already far too much traffic in that part of the city, and building a Walmart there would just multiply the problem exponentially. I advocate for smart growth, and that includes spreading the financial success and the traffic out over the entire city, and not concentrating too much in one place. There are better places in Byram to build a Walmart, like the I-55 East Frontage Road, and Byram Parkway.

2) The former board of aldermen said that they would not allow a Walmart to locate in Byram because they believed that a Walmart would kill local mom and pop businesses. Richard White, current mayor, was on the board of aldermen at the time. Before the former board left office earlier this year, they decided that they would allow Walmart in. The new board, who took office at the beginning of July, 2013, could have still said no to Walmart had they wanted to do so, not being bound by what the old board had done, but they did not. I sincerely hope that you have a problem with people breaking their promises, whether you want a Walmart or not.