Growth in Lake Jackson

The pervasive sentiment from city leaders in Brazoria County is that bigger is better. They are quoted in our daily newspaper as saying we should bring more people into our fair cities. We should build more buildings and subdivisions, create more infrastructure and compete with the big boys like Pearland.

I’m very happy with the way things are in Lake Jackson. I’m not really sure bigger is better, and I voiced that to a wise community leader in Angleton a few weeks ago. Her answer was simple: Growth is coming our way. It’s inevitable, so we have to get ready.

Of course, I know that. It’s been talked about for at least 10 years. So, kudos to our local leaders who understand the importance of having new roads to drive on and safe water to drink. Thanks for the forethought of improving the aesthetics of downtown Lake Jackson and Freeport to help spur business growth there. If change is coming lets be prepared.

We had a company representative from Rockport visit our office in downtown Lake Jackson last week. We ate lunch at Wayside Pub and he was very complimentary of the downtown district. So much so that he said there wasn’t anywhere in Rockport nearly as nice as the section of town we ate in. He was impressed and wished his city would revitalize itself like Lake Jackson is attempting to do.

But with the good, you get the bad. I oftentimes hear comments about needing another big chain restaurant in Southern Brazoria County or a mega-grocery store or a big box do-it-yourself store. But when was the last time you heard someone comment on getting good customer service from the do-it-yourself stores? How impressed are you after standing in line for an hour waiting to be seated at the franchised restaurant in Pearland? How bad did your day just become after it took 10-15 minutes to get from one end of Oyster Creek Drive to the other as you hit every single stoplight?

My recent thoughts have been centered on the new Dow office park. How in the world are thousands of those cars and trucks going to intermingle with the current traffic pattern in downtown Lake Jackson, especially when HEB builds its new grocery store less than a mile away? I see patrolmen in the road at Dixie Drive and Highway 332 trying to get traffic through those lights at different times of day and there’s just one Dow parking lot full of vehicles at that spot.

You never know, this time next year a new favorite restaurant might pop up or an entertainment spot for children and teens. Maybe sales will jump off the charts at my office. And maybe, hopefully, traffic in Southern Brazoria County won’t end up looking like it does in Pearland, League City or Sugar Land.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too, but I wish we could find a happy medium.

Russell Burnett is a resident of Lake Jackson and is against explosive growth. You can read his blog at www.russellburnett.blogspot.com

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