This in in response to Clara Davenport’s letter, in favor of putting a truck stop along the highway in Spanish Valley.
I love Moab. I love the kindness I’ve found here, and its small-town friendliness. I know we can be contentious at times, but I’ve also seen the community come together when bad things happen.
I chose a home on Holyoak Lane — close to the highway — five years ago because it was a good match for me, I liked the house and I liked the neighborhood. When a large rental unit went in at Sage and Holyoak a while back, the noise was horrendous. The contents of my cupboards were shaken, and I had to hire someone to seal up the growing cracks on my windowsills. But I didn’t complain because I hadn’t checked the zoning on that vacant lot and honestly, a place with only 15 rooms isn’t that bad.
There are several small businesses along this stretch of 191, and I accept that – and use them. But I would be very upset if something the size of a Love’s Truck Stop were added to the mix. I have nothing against trucks, truck drivers or Love’s. But an operation of that size is going to have a huge impact between noise, lights, idling and traffic.
Do we want an operation of that size and magnitude in Moab? Why not put it at La Sal Junction, a welcome respite from driving up 191? A place where trucks could idle freely, radios could be blasting, and drivers of trucks, cars and motorcycles could stop for a bite to eat and a shower? Why put it in the heart of a quiet residential district? (It won’t just run along the highway; the plans are huge. It will literally be in people’s backyards.)
And after Love’s, what? Big-box stores? An amusement park? Why not put small businesses along that stretch, maybe doctor’s offices, shops, a convenience store or a smaller gas station? Locally owned businesses where the money would stay here, in Moab Valley.
The problem with Moab is that we’re all neighbors; it’s all one neighborhood. I don’t live in Spanish Valley but I do consider it my backyard. A backyard that I love. I would hate to see it change in such a significant way.
