The Mayor of Fontana, California thinks Wal-Mart’s proposed site for a second supercenter in the city is “insane.” Wal-Mart has offered a plan for congested south end of the city at Sierra and Slover avenues, an intersection where residents say traffic already is unbearable. Wal-Mart plans call for a huge, 245,000 s.f. supercenter. Last year, Wal-Mart proposed a supercenter for the Fontana Promenade, a shopping area near the corner of Sierra and South Highland avenues south of the 210 Freeway. The first Wal-Mart project has not been approved, but now the company is proposing a second superstore. The area the retailer has chosen for a second store is basically in an industrial area. Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi told the Daily Bulletin newspaper that the city’s design guidelines at Sierra and Slover do not allow a big-box retailer on the corner. “The vision for that was hotels and smaller development. It was definitely not a super Wal-Mart,” the Mayor said. The Mayor said the city would have sold the land it owned at this location to Wal-Mart if it had wanted a big store there. “This is not an adequate site in my opinion for super Wal-Mart,” the Mayor added. Instead, the Mayor suggested that Wal-Mart look further north for a site. “To put them south of the 10 (Freeway) in the midst of traffic congestion already is insane,” the Mayor told the newspaper. The city is already wrangling with Wal-Mart over their first site, at the Fontana Promenade, and want the company to find another location for their first proposal. Homeowners on the south end of the city have complained about the difficult traffic situation for years. The city approved a Home Depot for that area, and residents say that project really snarled the traffic pattern.
Do not fret for the residents of Fontana, California who are addicted to Wal-Mart. There already is a Wal-Mart discount store on Foothill Boulevard in Fontana, and no less than 10 other Wal-Mart discount stores within 15 miles of Fontana. None of these 11 Wal-Marts are supercenters, so all these stores are marked for extinction by Wal-Mart, which has shut down more than 1,000 discount stores over the past 15 years. These supercenters are being built for Wall Street, not for shoppers on Main Street.
