One of my all-time favorite quotes comes from one of my favorite authors, Bill Bryson: “In my experience, the last people you want trying to solve any problem, but especially those involving roads, are highway engineers. They operate from the principle that while no traffic problem can ever truly be solved, it can be spread over a much larger area.”

I can’t wait to see what the current, heavily congested downtown Northampton traffic will look like in the near future when the city cuts the number of lanes in half. I like to think on the bright side: People who travel to Northampton’s restaurants and shops from 10 to 100 miles away regularly will be able to ride their bikes downtown, from, say, 60 miles away, in January.

Again, thinking positively, as is my wont, imagine how that will cut down on health care costs. Ah yes, carbon-free 73-year-old couples biking all the way from maybe South Windsor, Connecticut, on a “brisk” 9-degree January evening with wind chills of -6 degrees for dinner and a drink! The combination of driving down health care costs and making the planet safer from climate change caused by evil, non-college-educated white men driving SUVs will make Northampton the envy of the world.

If you haven’t already surmised, I’m being facetious. Cutting the number of lanes in an already heavily congested traffic area by half will, of course, just “spread the problem over a much larger area.”

In changing times, it’s a good to change with the times, if it’s for the better. It’s OK if your first efforts aren’t your best, unless you settle for not your best. I suggest the planners go back to the drawing board.

David Duseau

Hatfield