People walk in Masontown
The July 20 editorial in the Herald-Standard, titled “No Favoritism,” stated that two of the three county commissioners circumvented the zoning rules on parking spaces to expedite the rebuilding of a Dollar General Store in Masontown. The previous Dollar General was destroyed by fire on Sept. 13, 2004, almost one year ago. In that 10-month period of time, Dollar General has been attempting to rebuild. The editorial was written from the perspective of a Uniontown person who sees everyone frantically driving everywhere to go anywhere in Uniontown. That is not the case in Masontown.
It is well known that Masontown is a walking community. That fact, in particular, is why Dollar General wants to rebuild in Masontown. The commissioners know this.
Because Masontown is a walking community, which includes many citizens who do not even own a car, the parking lot for the previous Dollar General was never full. The store was. Parking never was an issue or a problem.
Recently, the German-Masontown Public Library had its bricks repointed by a Greensburg Company. The owner and workers of that company constantly commented on the large number of walkers in this town.
Evidently, that was a rare sight for them. Perhaps walking customers are difficult to comprehend for people in larger cities, but walking still exists in Masontown.
Masontown is a walking community.
Since Masontown is a walking community, and since the previous Dollar General Store parking lot was never full, does a zoning rule, from a Uniontown perspective, really apply, without exception? Further, should any blanket rule be mandated without considering the actual, realistic circumstances?
Must Masontown view itself as a car-centered community, when it is not, in order to fit a Uniontown perception? Equally, must Masontown view, as important, a parking issue that is not an issue?
Finally, must county commissioners ignore this important fact when it is a rule that is meaningless in Masontown?
Patricia Lubits Gump
Masontown