I drive down West State Street on a daily basis. The desert our west-side has become is disappointing; what does a mother without a car do at 1:00 a.m. when her baby is screaming with an ear infection and there’s no pharmacy in her general vicinity and no public transportation at that hour?
I understand the financial need to remove some of the street lighting, I don’t like it all, but I do get the financial reasoning. Unfortunately, this decision further compounds the challenges of the west-side of Rockford and makes residents uneasy with the darkened streets.
As abandoned as the west-side appears to be by economic development and quality of life resources, I’ve seen a spot of brightness lately on my daily trek. I have to admit that I’ve been a bit skeptical about the West State Street Corridor plan – frankly, I didn’t hold out much hope that it would ever come to reality given the amount of time we’ve been talking about it.
Piles of rubble that were called buildings are being torn down at an increasing pace; I believe I saw two torn down and cleaned up last week. Boarded up houses, that I’m sure were enticing to those with nefarious activities in mind, are also coming down. The clean up of the demolitions are happening quickly and within a week, there is a vacant lot. The vacant lot is okay for now, but I really hope plans are in the works for what those lots are going to be down the road. I envision a grocery store, health care facility and bank; opportunitites for employment for west-side residents.
I want to congratulate the Rockford City Council, Mayor Morrissey and City of Rockford Community Development Department (and all others working on this effort) for remaining committed to seeing the West State Street Corridor redeveloped – even when others, including me, didn’t think it would become a reality. It’s going to take time, but you’ve been taking some great first steps to developing what can become an area of opportunity to the west-side residents.
I look forward to the day when that mother with the crying, sick baby can walk up the street to the grocery store and use their pharmacy to help her child through the pain. I look forward to not having to be sure I’ve gotten gas before I pass Jefferson Street on my way home, because there’s really no where else for me to stop until I hit Winnebago. I look forward to west-side residents having access to a real bank in their neighborhood instead of a payday loan or check cashing hut that takes too large a portion of their paychecks. I look forward to equity for the west-side. Thank you, City Council and Mayor Morrissey, for looking forward to a brighter west-side!
Related posts:
