Traffic Nightmare Targets Staten Island

There was a good piece in Friday's SI Advance on the opening of a Target store at the Bricktown Centre on the South Shore of the Island. It will be interesting to see if Islanders will forego the lower-priced New Jersey option in favor of a Target that is closer to their homes. As the paper points out, "Opponents of Bricktown Centre have argued that Islanders can easily cross the bridge to shop at similar stores in New Jersey, where there is no tax on clothing..."

Borough President Molinaro disagrees and believes the store will be a success but, as we have pointed out, he is rightfully concerned with the pending traffic nightmare if the area's road infrastructure is not improved. The Advance underscores this point: "While Molinaro supported Bricktown, he has also recently predicted a 'traffic nightmare' in the area if untouched portions of Page Avenue and Arthur Kill Road and Veterans Road West are built out with similar stores, and he said that$100 million worth of roadway improvements is needed."

This of course has implications for the proposed Wal-Mart on Richmond Valley Road, as well as a Stop-N-Shop on Page. The supermarket is likely to have greater local support since it's not a regional draw and its trade area is much smaller.