Some missed the point of the cross-county connector forum

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Charles County Commissioner Reuben Collins and Gene Davies attended the cross-county connector forum at the College of Southern Maryland on Nov. 4.

Mr. Collins was quoted as saying that additional roads built by developers in the Billingsley Road corridor "would create even more of a hardship on Mattawoman Creek [than] a well-designed road [the connector]." In his letter to the Maryland Independent ["Two things at once," Nov. 13], Mr. Davies writes, "The assumption is a creek crossing of about 1,000 feet, a bridge, is going to destroy the creek."

Both of these gentlemen were in favor of the connector and apparently neither listened to what was actually presented because they missed the whole point of the forum. It isn't the connector itself that will be doing most of the damage, it's the development that the connector was designed to accommodate.

The forum was sponsored by the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County. The organization is not categorically opposed to growth and development, but it does urge that it be done in appropriate locations and in an environmentally sensitive manner. Toward that end, the alliance issued a report dated June 2009, "Trouble Ahead, Use Alternate Routes."

The report, available at www.mattawomanwatershedsociety.org, describes alternatives to massive development in the forested Mattawoman Creek watershed in western Charles County; alternatives that will accommodate the economic growth the county wants and needs, but will do so in ways that are economically and environmentally less costly.

The alternative sites already have supporting infrastructure (water, sewer, power, roads etc.) in place and offer the potential of mass transportation options that will reduce pollution and commuting time.

It is unfortunate that many of those who attended the forum missed its point.

Bruce Kirk, La Plata