I read in the Oct. 26 edition of The Chronicle of Mcdonald’s plans to move to Creswell.
I have several concerns about McDonald’s plans after reading this article. While McDonald’s is a known brand with a proven performance track record, it does not seem to understand what type of impact it has when a business like that moves into smaller communities — and moving into small communities is its current growth strategy.
Creswell is much more than a freeway exit. It is the town we call home. It’s a place where one business can have a major effect on the character of the community.
McDonald’s current plan has it pushing out at least two local businesses, moving into an already traffic congested area, near other businesses that McDonald’s might directly compete with rather than enhancing the business district — all in a spot that has a wastewater hookup to an aging and overburdened wastewater plant.
The plans to reroute traffic near D & F streets does not adequately address the traffic coming off the freeway, and then crossing the overpass to get back on.
Creswell has a mix of people with different ideas. Some people choose to live in a smaller community to get away from major brands such as McDonald’s. Something almost everyone who lives here agrees on is that we want to support our local businesses, wisely improve our infrastructure, and develop businesses our community needs.
We don’t really “need” a McDonald’s.
The statements from McDonald’s construction manager sound both misleading and downright false. We have learned that despite the claims made to The Chronicle, a local restaurant and Coffee stand will NOT be remaining. The creation of 50 -70 jobs while having technology take care of customer orders does not sound like meaningful wages.
McDonald’s current plan does not add to the community, it is a net negative. This is not a good way to become a member of our tight-knit community. For a business to be successful in a community, they need to have something to offer.
Lisa Linnell-Olsen
Creswell
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