George,

At this point, the tragedy of the Meadowcreek Parkway descending on us seems to be a fait accompli. Rarely do I find it in my soul to criticize locally elected members of my Democratic Party--but, this monstrous decision to proceed with this newest "paean" to the automobile has disturbingly broken my formerly unshakeable loyalty.

If the "Law of Unintended Consequences" was ever foretold, this untimely and ill considered decision to tear a park asunder to lay more blacktop is as clear as any in my life's experience.

And maybe that is my fundamental problem--my life experience. I grew up in an area where trees, open spaces and aesthetics were as important to the human existence as the air we breathe or the clean water we require....

But then "progress" came to control our destiny. "Progress" came in greater efforts to accommodate the automobile, facilitating "commerce" by making it easier and more expeditious to get from "Point A to Point B" a few minutes sooner, though, as I look back, the inevitable clogging and congestion ensued.

Oh, to be sure, all the promises of a "better life for all" resulting from all this "progress" were all the rage.The politicos couldn't resist the clamor and pressure from those who were convinced society's needs would be better served by another highway or parking lot!

What could possibly be more important than speeding people along in their automobiles?

The real motivation, as it turned out, was the false belief that all of this would enhance the "bottom line" of the loudest cheerleaders.

So, down came the trees, the bulldozers scoured the land of every bit of green and asphalt and concrete became the replacement.

Now jump ahead a few decades and revisit this once beautiful place...it is a sorry mess of failed and failing businesses, so unattractive that even the original boosters refuse to support all that was promised.Route 17 in Paramus, New Jersey is just an ugly scar across a once pristine landscape of trees, wildflowers and places to walk and enjoy.

The promoters of Meadowcreek promise the familiar call of "progress"--it will make it more "convenient" to access the downtown of Charlottesville.The quiet streets will once again be just that, as the annoying and smelly cars are diverted through what was originally designated to be a PARK!

I suggest, for those who believe these myths, to check out Rugby Road on any afternoon, especially Fridays, to see how many seek 'shortcuts" to avoid the traffic approaching gridlock on Emmett Street--cars now are backed up from Barracks Road and Rugby Road intersection to the Unitarian Church on the corner of Fendall Avenue.

Think, if you will of the citizens of Paris allowing a "parkway" through their cherished parks to speed along the automobile or the Londoners through Hyde Park, or the people of Copenhagen through Tivoli Gardens or those of Tokyo through Meiji Park.

When much of the rest of the United States is actively seeking alternative methods of moving people with light rail and other forms of mass transit, Charlottesville, sitting on two existing rail lines running east and west and north and south, seeks only more blacktop--and the "decision makers" will say it's all in the interest of "progress".

Harry Tenney (Electronic mail, June 29, 2009)

ps One final thought: The most lame arguments I have heard is "it is underway--too much loss to halt things now." I shudder to think what these folks would do if a nuclear powerplant "underway" was discovered to be sitting on a major active faultline! The other argument I have heard indirectly, is not wanting to reverse decisions of predecessors. Thank goodness that argument didn't prevail, or we would still be living under the "predecessor's" decisions of Dred Scott and Plessy vs Ferguson.