Sunday, June 1, 2008

The State of Stafford

For 10 years now, Stafford County has been trying to become the former Prince William County (The new Prince William County is, well...we'll get to that later.).  They have been building and building.  We have shopping centers with real stores, real name brand restaurants, multiple commuter parking lots.  There is  a hospital in construction.  They are revamping the movie theater.  It just doesn't stop.

We also have traffic 6 days a week.  And now that they are expanding our 2 lane main drag, Garrisonville Road, we have the most fucked up streets I've ever seen, short of a natural disaster. I can't understand why this middle-to-upper-middle class town would allow for this mess.  Every time I drive down the street, I'm dodging drains, holes, pot holes, gravel, cement, and people, all while trying to stay between the yellow and white lines--which change every week.  Don't y'all know that this causes damage to your vehicles, especially with regard to the alignment?  

I suppose we can't avoid it if we want change.  And it is desperately needed because of the continuous growth.  Stafford, the country, as we used to call it, was once filled with miles and miles of untouched land.  Now, they are squeezing in housing developments on every corner they can occupy.  The result is people everywhere--always going in the same direction, to the same place that you are.  You can't get anywhere fast here.  Patience is a virtue.
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If you are from Stafford, or in Stafford, I'm hoping you'll find my stories engaging enough that you'll return to this website and share it with your friends.  

If you're not from Stafford, I'm hoping that you'll still follow along and learn about it, and my travails.  It is probably no different from your own city--the same struggles, same concerns.