There is no official date set for the opening of the new Walmart on Union. However, the clearing and construction of the building are already underway.

The institution of such a large-scale and well-known chain has upset many local residents who are sure that the new store will affect not only local and school traffic, but also local businesses as well.
“I just think there’s going to be way too much traffic… It’s crowded enough as it is,” says a local who is currently renting a house nearby. “I just don’t like Walmart anyway, and I don’t go.”
Neighbor Rick Swenson, a resident across the street from the construction, has a different viewpoint. “If people don’t want to go there they don’t have to. For people who do, I think it’s kind of nice that they can just walk there or perhaps take a bus,” said Swenson.
There is a lot of speculation that the new Walmart will affect local business. Tim Snow, the manager of the competing major chain store in the area, Target, says that this is not always the case.
“Generally when Walmarts open close to Targets we see some short term impact – a month or two, but then we generally see some sales lift that is much longer term. We expect the same here. Most people assume that Walmarts are much thriftier then a Target, but the average price difference is only around two cents an item.”
There is one thing that all can agree on: this new Walmart is and will continue to affect local traffic patterns.
“I think that having Walmart in the area will bring a lot of business and additional traffic to the area,” said Snow. “We are just hoping that enough traffic counter measures have been put in place to handle a big spike in business.”
People who reside nearby hope that increased Walmart traffic will not affect the streets that they live on. “I hope they have sufficient parking,” said Swenson, “If they have well designed parking they could afford to handle 2000 cars. If they don’t design it well they’d have to park here!”
“I don’t know where they’re going to have them (customers) come in at. Walmart’s so huge they could pretty much do anything they want,” says local neighbor, “We all hate Walmart up here.”