To the editor:

    In regard to their recently revised position on the proposed South
Lawrence Trafficway, I am profoundly disappointed in our city commissioners.
Instead of acting with foresight and respect for the diversity of our community
and our ecosystem, the commission, with the exception of Boog Highberger,
has bowed to ill-advised pressures.

    Our leaders have dismissed important new planning realities, including
the city's new wastewater treatment system, the pending intermodal facility
in Gardner, and the regional distribution complex that is emerging in
Ottawa.  These key developments, all south of the river, were never brought up
in the Corps of Engineers' Environmental Impact Statement on the SLT, and are
being largely ignored by the county and the Federal Highway Administration.

    Indeed, the city has grown, and with it, traffic patterns and problems
have expanded. But as currently proposed, the SLT's 32nd Street alignment
defies logic. This road is slated to be built far too close to the city's
center.  It might have made sense 20 years ago, but it sure doesn't make sense
now.

    Further, for many people in this community, the wetlands are sacred
ground.  It is also a place where schoolchildren by the score have their first
encounter with environmental education. Naturalists and fitness buffs alike
benefit from the proximity and open space provided by this local treasure.
The wetlands are a selling point for our town! And they are being
sacrificed, in part, due to lack of vision and planning.

What a shame.

Laura Routh,

Lawrence