Wednesday’s Letters to the Editor

• Five Points South will be boon to area

I noted with annoyance the flurry of letters Monday from citizens — not merchants — decrying the mixed-use project known as Five Points South.

I’m not going to debate the relative merits of the various charges leveled over this or that aspect of the project, but as a longtime member of the Five Points community (as both customer and merchant), I believe that the new living space and retail opportunities offered by Five Points South are crucial to the growth and prosperity of the community.

So, too, is the proposed parking facility — perhaps even more so in the long view than the other aspects of the building. I know from long-held experience that shoppers and diners won’t spend their money in the village if they can’t find a safe, convenient place to park, and the location and layout of the garage will be most beneficial in this regard.

Of course, the Five Points Association Board is aware of concerns in the community about the design and height of the building, but one need only look around to see other long-extant structures of similar height within view. Whatever the design flaws that may be perceived by those in the neighborhoods, the parking facility’s benefits and the aesthetic design of the structure will, over time, be a boon to the area and not the detriment about which the letter writers seem so presciently certain.

JAMES D. “DON” McCALLISTER

Five Points Association Board of Directors

Loose Lucy’s

Columbia

• Project will enhance Five Points’ character

The apartment building and garage proposed for the old Kenny’s site in Five Points is the result of significant design input by expert urban planners, vetted and approved through extensive public hearings over many months, despite what anyone says to the contrary.

The project will fit well into the existing character of Five Points, enhancing it even, and provide parking where it is needed the most.

In Chicago, where I did my graduate work, many of the older buildings downtown feel very imposing without being very tall. On the other hand, Sears Tower — then one of the tallest buildings in the world — does not feel imposing at all. Because of setbacks and other well-planned features, it has a friendly, open feel that attracts pedestrians, as evidenced by the many flourishing across-the-street shops and eateries surrounding the building.

The Kenny’s project has been designed in the same spirit and will be an asset to Five Points long after this controversy settles down.

STEPHEN A. FENNER

Columbia

• Bad location, wrong scale doom project

The Kenny’s re-development site has been attacked from so many facets (scale, location within Five Points, costs, the city’s obligation). However, the issue that will continue to haunt this project is from a parking and traffic perspective.

Yes, we are accustomed to parking and walking 20 steps to our destination now in most of Columbia, but 10 to 20 years in the future, that won’t be the norm in Five Points or the Vista.

The University of South Carolina has consolidated parking in garages, and people are expected to walk to their destinations.

The problem with the Kenny’s site is that the parking accommodated with the additional height will have entrances and/or exits onto three different streets. The already well-used arterial and surface street pattern will bear the traffic and the congestion that come with non-standard intersections and signalized lights. I could see this turning into circular gridlock, with cars trying to get in and out of the garage effectively stopping the flow of through traffic.

Not the right location; not the right scale.

LYNN SHIRLEY

Columbia

• New investment will spur Five Points growth

I support building the parking garage at the old Kenny’s site. The area needs more parking and new investment.

Most of the merchants in Five Points are struggling to survive. A large investment will help them and should help bring more new investment.

Most of the people trying to block the construction have no material interest in Five Points: They don’t own businesses or work with the merchants there.

It is not as if a six-story building will block their view of the ocean. What is there to see?

I work with many Five Points merchants; they know best.

STEVEN H. COHEN

Columbia

• Should letter writer thank a teacher?

J.H. Green’s letter Tuesday concerning teachers’ being overpaid is very well-written.

Is this a gift he was born with, or did he perhaps learn this in school?

ROD DALTON

Columbia

• Clinton will do, say anything to be elected

The most cynical thing Sen. Hillary Clinton has done since Pennsylvania is again try to include Michigan in the popular vote total. She has renewed that call, knowing that Sen. Barack Obama was not on the ballot in Michigan. Does anyone need any more proof that this woman lacks core values and will do anything to gain the presidency?

She appears to be a totally political animal, lacking in depth, willing to do anything to destroy an opponent. What has happened to the woman’s soul?

PATRICK FRANK

Kingstree