Your gushing about the arrival of Wegmans ("Counting down the days until Wegmania finally hits Howard County," Feb. 9) left off another important fact: the insane traffic congestion on Snowden River Parkway that the opening of Wegmans will cause.
Don't get me wrong. I like Wegmans, too, as a grocery store and I have been known to drive to Hunt Valley to go to Wegmans.
But that's just the point. As you mentioned in your article, people will come from great distances to go to the store, i.e. like the 1,500 shoppers you mentioned for opening day in Landover.
It was laughable to me when the planners said a couple of years ago (in the Flier) that the opening of the store wouldn't affect traffic. With all due respect, what were they drinking?
I live near where the Wegmans is being built. In just a few years, I have already seen a huge increase in traffic on Snowden River Parkway. When Wegmans opens, the traffic will be even more insane. Putting a couple of extra turn lanes was a nice gesture, but, in the scheme of things, it won't make that much difference.
As usual, we keep adding to the development in the county without fixing the infrastructure to support it. Don't even get me started on Route 32.
So, I'll probably go to Wegmans occasionally and enjoy the offerings, but first, I'll see how long it takes me to get there and park!
Zarrin Caldwell
Owen Brown