George,

I am still upset with the Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club, and Piedmont Environmental Council with their vigorous opposition to the Western Bypass while being completely quiet about the Meadowcreek Parkway. Are Albemarle High School and St. Anne's more important than CHS? Is parkland in the county more important than parkland in the city? Are Meadowcreek and the Rivanna river not worth protecting from pollution? Could the money to be spent on the Meadowcreek Parkway not also be better spent on existing roadways or alternative forms of transportation? I am a member of the Sierra Club (at least for now). I guess I don't donate as much as the people in the county. And of course I am always upset with the county for their trash C'ville attitude for the good of their residents but "not in my backyard" if it hurts them.

Please understand I am not in favor of the bypass: I am just really angry about the unequal treatment of the two projects. We have already trashed what was once a fairly nice road, 29 north, so let's keep all the traffic, trash, and pollution in one place. If you take the savings from the bypass ($240 million), the Springfield mixing bowl ($700 million), replacing the Wilson bridge ($3.5 billion), and numerous other road projects that I don't know about or the cost, that would be a big pile of money for alternative transportation. Building more roads isn't the answer and we need to oppose all of them not just the ones that effect the wealthy in Western Albemarle.

Have a good day,

Downing Smith (electronic mail, March 19, 2002)

Editor's Note: The Sierra Club has actually been quite vocal in their opposition to the Meadowcreek Parkway.