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OBSERVATIONS
February 4, 2021 |
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New subdivisions are sprouting almost overnight along NC 42 east of Clayton.
 Wingate Lassiter |
Take a short drive out Buffalo Road
to see the fruits of sprawling growth
Johnston County is rapidly "suburbanizing" ----its northwestern territory especially, from Archer Lodge to Clayton to Cleveland Township and McGee's Crossroads.
A representative sample of what the county's planning director has termed as "unprecedented" residential development can be seen along the relatively short stretch of NC Highway 42 between Clayton and Buffalo Road at Flowers Plantation.
The rooftops of houses are fast replacing the treetops of that rolling PIedmont countryside. And that, in turn, is spurring commercial development to provide the basic services those new residents need for survival outside our cities and towns.
Folks who've been residing in those areas for some time are fearful of being overrun by overpopulation. Johnston's County Commissioners are surely hearing from them, and have recently responded by putting the brakes on several projects of major residential density and setting the wheels in motion for an overhaul of the county's land-development rules.
Their biggest concerns are overcrowded schools, worsening traffic congestion, and sewage-treatment capacities.
Of course, these issues have been hounding local governments nationwide since the Baby Boomers came of age following the end of World War II. Yet Johnston County is just now beginning to feel the pangs of rampant growth.
At the heart of the matter are property rights: When does my freedom to do whatever I want with the land I own undercut my neighbor's well-being?
To answer that question is one of the basic reasons why we have government in this nation that's of the people, by the people, and for the people. Without it, we have chaos, and in the end everyone loses.
The new shopping center at the intersection of Buffalo Road and NC 42 at Flowers Plantation is anchored by an upscale grocery store, and already there's a major competitor across the highway.
Under construction just east of Flowers Plantation is Johnston County's newest school. Thanksgiving Elementary should be ready for students later this year.
NC 42 is being widened to four lanes between Clayton and Buffalo Road. Here's the new bridge over the Neuse River that's already half-done.
One of the reasons for the residential boom east of Clayton is the massive new Novo Nordisk plant beside Powhatan Road. The internationally known manufacturer of insulin presently has about 1,500 employees on the job here, says Chris Johnson of the Johnston County Economic Development Office, which provided the photo.
A READER'S THANK-YOU NOTE
I read the Sun's report on
the county's COVID-19 vaccination efforts. My
experience was very positive and I wanted to share
how things went for me at a county drive-through
vaccine clinic.
I got my first dose of the vaccine at the drive-up
event at Johnston Community College. The whole
process went much smoother than I had imagined. The
people who did the site layout and logistics really
knew what they were doing.
The day of the event I did not know how many doses
were administered. The event was advertised as a
minimum of 500 doses and I have subsequently learned
that approximately 1,500 people were inoculated. I
arrived at 7:30 a.m., knowing that the first doses
were not scheduled to be given until 10 a.m. My
estimate on arrival was that more than 500 people
were already in the cue.
Members of law enforcement were hard at work when I
drove up and expertly directed traffic into a
well-planned configuration that made the movement of
cars into and out of the vaccination area efficient.
There were EMTs and paramedics on site and I saw
several of my county employee friends working on
registering patients, passing out documents, and
answering questions non-stop. Each and every person
working on the site maintained and reflected a very
positive mood that made me for one feel much more at
ease.
Through the entire event we were informed about what
to expect next and the safest and easiest things to
do to facilitate the procedures.
All I can add is "thank you" to everyone who worked
so hard to look after so many people so skillfully.
--- TOM BELL,
Smithfield
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