As I drive to school every morning, I pass by the long stretch of empty land and construction vehicles on the corner of Guess and Latta Road. Less than a mile past the end of the construction site, I see a hidden turn into the entrance of Easley Elementary School.
It takes me back to fifth grade, when my teacher made my class write letters explaining our personal disdain about the possible new construction because of how it would affect traffic and our safety. Though this “Latta Park” development wasn’t approved until 2021, talk had already begun in 2016 and Easley was not in favor, so much so that they used young voices to express that feeling.
I know that it was a harmless attempt to limit the unwanted growth around our humble school and North Durham as a whole, but it is funny to think back on how I wrote a letter to (I can only assume) elected officials in NC about my nonexistent want for preserving the woods around my school.
Coming from a high-schooler’s perspective, I’m excited to get another grocery store that I can buy questionable but cheap sushi from. I moved from downtown to North Durham, close to the Hillsborough border, as a child, and even then I recognized the lack of things to do. For example, I was an avid roller-blader but the closest rink, ‘Wheels Fun Park’, was nearly half an hour away and closed when I was in sixth grade. There’s now talk of it reopening, but until now, if I wanted to go to a skating rink, I would have to drive nearly an hour to a rink in Raleigh.
Though I am about to graduate and likely leave the area for college, having new stores and restaurants gives bored high schoolers like me something to do. And not only will these new developments serve for entertainment purposes, but the plan also includes having at least 5% of the residential units used for affordable housing that are financially subsidized.
I don’t doubt that the new developments will lead to increased traffic around Easley, but if I could rewrite the letter I wrote eight years ago, I would.
In my revised version, I would say: Though the new developments will lead to more activity on the road, it will also bring affordable housing, a public park, restaurants, and a much needed new grocery store. According to the developer’s website, it will not bring more unnecessary fast food chains, gas stations, and car washes. Their goal is to have mostly local and regional tenants within Latta Park. The drop-off lines to public schools will always be absolute chaos, no matter how rural the surrounding area is.
To sum it up, north Durham is sick of the most entertaining thing being the Starbucks on the corner of Guess, and I welcome something new.
