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Relax, enjoy the pace of unpaved roads

I find it frustrating reading about how we need to pave every road. I’ve heard from avid asphalt enthusiasts about how paving will make all our lives better. However, I’m skeptical about their rationale.

I’ve heard talk of safety issues, health issues, vehicle-maintenance issues, quality-of-life priorities. As opposed to a previous writer who lives “off of County Road 502,” I live on County Road 502. Every day, vehicles rush pass our homes at 10 to 20 miles an hour over the speed limit putting people, pets and wildlife in danger. Paving the road would allow them to go even faster making the “safety issue” worse.

This is a rural county road, not a thoroughfare to Durango. As for the health issues from dusty dirt roads, I personally prefer dust to smog any time. By the way, the faster you drive the more dust you deliver into your neighbor’s atmosphere. If you are in such a hurry to be somewhere else, perhaps you should live closer to that place.

I can’t help but add the fact that in the 23 years I’ve lived here, I have never known of an asphalt road being torn up and reconstructed with a dirt surface. This leads me to question why someone would buy a home where they know they will be unhappy. Vehicle maintenance is an issue wherever you drive. I suggest changing your air filter regularly, having your tires rotated and shocks replaced when called for. Also, spending two or more hours a day sitting in traffic on an asphalt “freeway” is not exactly a maintenance or a quality of life perk. If you think paved roads are a major quality-of-life issue, perhaps you need to spend some time in Albuquerque or Denver or Los Angeles. If you are completely committed to the convenience of asphalt, I have two suggestions for you: Move to the big city or slow down.

Lori Allenbaugh

Bayfield



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