Small towns battle megastores -- #freetransit would promote #walkability and help local businesses

CVS Pharmacy Embattled Coast-to-Coast By Shepherd Bliss: "Sebastopol’s town slogan “Local Flavor, Global Vision” would not be exemplified by CVS, which does not fit into a unique, sustainable downtown. “A wide majority of Sebastopolians believed that the CVS project was bad for local business, traffic, and ecology,” reported Jonathan Greenberg in the daily Press Democrat of the nearby urban center of Santa Rosa on Jan. 4. “We voted accordingly, electing two candidates who vigorously opposed the project.”"

Two strong attractions of mega-stores: ample parking and one-stop shopping. How can local mom-and-pop stores compete when they have only 2 or 3 parking places in front of their store? Simple answer. Make buses free in your town. People will ride downtown and walk around to shop. They will actually do more walking than they do now, and will stop exporting money for gas and goods.