Bypass critics bypass smart network

I am writing to comment on your lead article on the Rt. 29 bypass in the June 16 issue ["Fast track: Western Bypass shifts into overdrive"]. It is very one sided. I say this not as an editorial criticism, but rather to point out that there is a very vocal anti-road lobby. In contrast, very few are publicly supporting it. Yet, it seems essential if we are ever to have a rational system of local roads.

I have been a strong advocate of a more pedestrian-, bicycle-, and transit-friendly city. For me, construction of the bypass would be a marvelous first step towards a design in which regional traffic would come to large parking facilities and transit hubs on the periphery of the urban area, thereby reducing downtown traffic. I believe this is an idea whose time has come.

John Pfaltz
Charlottesville