At Targets Corporation “community meetings” their representative suggests that the current distribution center is unsightly and crumbling,
yet they say if the Super Target Projects fails the facility is ready to
operate immediately service with 60 loading docks and trucks coming and going
24 hours a day. In other words it’s ugly and non functional but if
we can scare you into believing we will use it as a distribution center you
will choose the prettier of the two evils.

According to the traffic analysis provided by Target to the city, the MAXIMUM estimated number of trucks coming AND going into the existing distribution center will be 284 truck movements a day. That equals 11.83 truck movements an hour, just under 6 trucks coming and six trucks leaving per hour over 24 hours.

Retail development attracts crime.

Target Corporation does a great job of patrolling its stores and parking. I am
also told they have a great relation with the police department. But Target Corporation can not and will not address the
crime to the adjoining shops and neighborhoods. It’s probably safe to say we can expect increase in car thieves and burglary the area.

It is also worth noting that we recently had armed robberies
just up the street at Normadale
Plaza, just 1 mile or so north of the proposed Super Target.

It is also worth noting that despite all the video
surveillance and great security at Bloomington Target, there was an armed
robbery where a security office was killed just a few years ago at the existing
Bloomington Target.

According to longtime neighbors of mine, there was not a
crime problem associated with the longtime distribution center when it was
operated by Holiday.

The real traffic problem

Traffic studies of existing Targets:

First of all Target Corporations latest Traffic analysis provided to the city on June 4, 2008, shows that the projected Super Target and adjoining stores will generate 15,970 cars a day or 998 cars an hour (assuming a 16 hour retail business day). Target claims many of the cars will already be driving by thus reducing the traffic to only 11,246 a day or 702.8 an hour. Target Corporation somehow manages to not count store employees, retail store employees, fast food employees, Target delivery Trucks, food delivery trucks, Armored trucks and small delivery trucks to all these small stores to this figure.
Target has been trying to scare us with truck traffic of a distribution center, but then manages to forget to add all this truck traffic for deliveries. A truck is still a truck for retail delivery or for distribution.

Target Corporation claims that most traffic for the new store is already driving by and merely stopping in the store going past the intersection. But Target Corporation then contradicts this with its own statistics.
Target proudly state that BUSY TIMES do not coincide with rush hour. That makes perfect sense. But statistically speaking if people are stopping at stores on the way driving past the Target Stores, shouldn’t Target Corporation busiest times be RUSH HOUR? Yet Target says heaviest store traffic will be before and after Rush hour. With a Super Target we not only have bad traffic at rush hour, but now it starts earlier and lasts until closing time.

Buried in their traffic estimates they estimate at peak hours only 2.05 cars entering the parking lot per minute in AM peak hours and 4.2 cars entering a minute to a free standing Super Target in afternoon peak hours. I challange any one of you to sit in a Super Target Parking lot and day any time and count less than 4 cars per minute entering their Parking lot.