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Editor, Windsor Weekly:

The town of Smithfield once boasted of its reputation of having that small-town feel. However, it is safe to say those days are a thing of the past. 

As a longtime resident of Isle of Wight County, I have slowly watched the small town of Smithfield fade away. There is a huge need for controlled growth that also allows preservation of Smithfield’s unique character.

With the addition of thousands of homes and many more on the rise, the infrastructure is quickly crumbling, being reduced to the likes of surrounding cities. The roads are not structured to handle the higher demands of traffic, the schools are not built to accommodate the influx of children, and the once beautiful and serene farm landscape is quickly being turned into the backdrop of city living. 

I remember when Route 17 had only one traffic light. I remember the days when you could travel over the James River Bridge quickly at any time of the day, in either direction. Now, there is gridlock on the bridge and through Carrollton every single day. 

The roads have gotten more dangerous with all the hurried drivers, and the backroads that were not designed for this amount of traffic are crumbling. The country scenery is now littered with garbage, and lifelong residents are now faced with new neighbors who think just because they “live in the country,” they can do anything they want without consideration of those around them. Watching this explosive growth rat race is quite overwhelming to the souls of lifelong residents.

I understand that growth is necessary and important within a community. However, the past few years have shown nothing but an uncontrolled explosion toward the advancement of city living. Bringing attention to the problems that the exponential growth is causing would make it seem necessary that the Town Council acknowledge the issues that come along with it. Attention needs to be focused on restructuring the road system to manage the flood of more cars. Focus needs to be on the school system to oversee the influx of new children, and consideration also needs to be given to the crime rate that has shot up in recent years.

The days of slow country life seem to be forever slipping from the grasp of society, and I can now only sit back and reminisce of the days when Smithfield was that small, quiet little town.

 

Amy Wiggs

Windsor