Last week’s poll asked what you thought about helmet laws and specifically if you believed that because Minnesota doesn’t require riders to use them but is generally a “nanny state” otherwise if there was a contradiction there. While the majority of people said let people go w/o them and a few others said they don’t care, most people didn’t cover the fact that Minnesota is hypocritical in this area. Why don’t you believe so when we have a governor who refused to allow aerial fireworks because we have to protect the public from themselves but still allows no helmets?

This week’s poll comes from an Eagan Patch article which discusses a recent analysis requested by the City of Eagan to determine whether an outlet mall would be ok with so much other new shopping being added elsewhere in the city.

From the article:

In summarizing the research at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Community Development Director Jon Hohenstein said a 400,000-square-foot outlet mall in the Cedar Grove area would offer a different retail experience than a 500,000-square-foot shopping center planned for the Lockheed Martin site.

“The bottom line … is that the traditional retail as being contemplated at the central area and the outlet retail are sufficiently different,” he said. “The two projects would not directly compete and both could be developed, if they are approved.

“Secondly, there is market demand in the region for this type of product and this type of outlet center.”

While no specifics are given in the Patch article itself and I am too lazy to read it myself at 6:30 AM on a Sunday, it would appear that more analysis needed to be done outside of just these two shopping centers. In a vacuum it would certainly appear that this would be the case, however, when the MoA, Burnsville Center, and all of the other shopping areas around the South Metro and even into Bloomington, St. Paul, etc are taken into account, a different conclusion all together may come about.

Personally I feel we’re inundated with shopping centers, many with useless stores that have high turnover. In fact, most shopping centers are blighted and nearly empty or filled with the same old stores coupled with the usual array of tanning and nail salons. Why would the City of Eagan think that is a good idea? While the outlet stores themselves may be a big draw (why people will drive long distances to buy seconds of clothing for slightly less than they can get elsewhere I’ll never know but that’s besides the point) is not really in question here, it’s wether we need more shopping in general in the area.

So what do you think? Do you think there is adequate shopping available in the area? Do you think that we have too many blighted/empty shopping centers already and adding more seems counterproductive? Do you prefer to shop at outlet malls or do you like the more traditional shopping routes? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on and vote on the side bar and then feel free to check out our expired polls in the archive or read through the previous posts about polls here.

Related posts:

1. Holiday Shopping Poll
2. Who Does the Grocery Shopping in Your Family?
3. Organic Shopping Experience at Valley Natural Foods
4. How Much Will You Pay for Sneakers Poll?
5. Who Does the Chores in Your Home Poll