YES!!! We have to drive miles for any sort of shopping, even groceries. All there is out in the far SW are houses, houses and dirt. What we don't need are more walmarts, dollar stores or starbucks. I'd actually like to see independent business go into the center rather than generic strip mall stores, but I'm sure that's exactly what will move in.

Did we need a Super Wal-Mart a mile away from an existing Wal-Mart and grocery store? Did we need a Costco a half-mile from an existing Costco? Did we need a swimming pool downtown (where almost no one lives) so we could shut down a half-dozen pools located in the middle of densly populated neighborhoods? Did we need a new ballpark downtown when nobody goes to the one we have now? Do we need another dead-end freeway from the west side of town into downtown when we can't even take care of the one we have now? Has the City Council ever met a commercial development project they didn't like and approve? Has the City Road's Department ever proposed anything to deal with increases in traffic other than more traffic lights?

Good luck with that, Pete.  We used to think we needed more grocery stores and shopping in Rosedale and look what's happened to us.  I miss the good old days of houses and dirt.  I hope you have better luck with the planners.  I remember in Junior High, one of my teachers telling us that one day it would be nothing but city, from San Francisco to LA.  It seemed pretty far fetched 38 years ago.  Not so much anymore.

That'll never happen, DG. But LA to San Diego was completed a few years back.

Doesn't seem like too many stores to me in Rosedale. There is way more traffic over there though. I remeber when I first moved here there were almost no lines at the grocery stores that were sort of close to us. Now it's guaranteed you'll stand in line everywhere. It's getting more and more crowded and the stores can't keep up. I also think it's another opportunity for people to get jobs even if they only hire young kids.

You raise an interesting question, mattloch.  Is more vision needed in all areas from roads and highways to residential and commercial growth in Bakersfield as we grow?  With metro Bakersfield projected to top 1 million residents by 2050, do we need more centralized control over how we grow and how fast we grow?  Can we avoid turning into a congested mess like L.A. where the whole city shuts down at rush hour and homes are built everywhere, including on inaccessible hillsides?

I would like to see this development.  I think it would take some pressure off Rosedale Hwy. all the way to the 24th St. Oak area.  Maybe a little selfish, but judging by the full parking lots in the NW area most of the time it will be supported.

It would be great to see real retail in a location that is designed for people to able to walk and browse for a variety of shopping needs. With the size of this project it sounds like the terrible design and set-up at the Northwest Promenade will be repeated. The area will be graded flat on big squares or rectangular blocks with appointments only a bus driver could love.  Big-box rules the mind set and check books today for shopping, which is why places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Bay Area continue to be destination places for shoppers and mid-size cities are reduced to Goodwill, Dollar, Salvation Army, Tuesday Morning, 99cent, Wal Mart, Costco and Target stores only. 

Of course, since rents for retail are now ridiculously high, and specialty chains keep dropping like spiders during a freeze, who is left to even go into these spaces? Maybe when the big real estate gobblers discover there is no longer any retailers left to gouge, and most of the money spent is happening on-line you might begin to see a change. The trend now for all retail is on-line. Big-box shopping is so horrorific an experience, and clerks have been dumbed down below Jeff Daniels and Jim Carey levels today at all retail because of lousy pay and benefits that it is not worth the gas to go.

Good luck out in the vast southwest sprawl with this fine new retail development! What I want is a click away with great customer service.

The problem is that there is little (if any) pro-active planning, either in the City or County. It is dependent on developers to come up with a plan, that the respective Planning Departments then review for compliance with their General Plan(s) and Zoning Ordinances. As long as the developers follow the rules, the planners cannot ask for any additional amenities. It is up to the discretionary bodies, the Planning Commissions, and the Council and Board to make the decisions at the political level. That isn't to say that the Planning Departments aren't letting the developers walk all over them- as illustrated by this newest plan, the Bako General Plan policy against "strip" commercial (which is suppose to encourage clustering of commercial uses) has been ignored all along that stretch of Gosford and Panama. (Even more egregious violations of stated policies were committed by approving both of the Super Wal-Marts, something that many people still don't realize to this day.) There must be clear, progressive policies in place, with robust Planning Departments, in order to ensure the kind of developments that people here are "wishing" for. Reactive planning simply cannot provide anything but this kind of "lowest common denominator" development, ever. It takes a visionary developer concerned with something other than the "bottom line" to propose development that will be viewed as "good" by all members in the community. This town (and County) is simply not large enough or profitable enough for this to happen. And until you give the Planning Departments some teeth (with better policies), some balls (with better enforcement and control over proposed development), and a spine (with decision makers that will stand up and say "no" to developers, instead of simply seeing increased tax revenues), we'll never have "good" planning happening here. We will continue to see the same "mistakes" occurring time and time again, and the continual growth of "dead" shopping centers as large "box" stores continue to move out from the city core chasing those coveted "suburban" dollars.

I"m always excited when a New Shopping Center opens up in Bakersfield...It gives us a Greater Variety of Choices for Shopping and Dining.