The Mrs. and I went into town recently, and there was a lot of traffic going nowhere, a rich mix of drivers: locals, new locals, travelers, tourists and truckers. Traffic volume increased so there was no flow, rhyme or reason.

For example, the southerly federal highway approach to town is a barren concrete unwelcome ride. It feels like driving up to Checkpoint Charlie. A richer natural environment, less concrete, more trees and shrubbery, and a slower speed limit would help the south end.

The routes between downtown and Florida Road are obscure, not well-marked and – if you’re not local – difficult to find your way. Aligning Florida Road’s traffic with a higher-capacity route would smooth the commute, which is what Florida Road is, a commute.

The north end of town has commuters, too, and a generous transition to federal highway. The western approach actually delivers four lanes of traffic off a federal highway right into town.

So, we have federal highways south, north and west running into the heart of town. We have an eastern commuter route also running along sub-routes into town. All that traffic joining into a great, smoking, smelly, noisy bruise in town. No choice for anyone, really, you cannot get from one side of town to another in any other way than going through the four-block wide chokepoint between 17th and 12th streets.

There was a popular walking tour guide called “Walking Durango.” We could use a “Driving Durango” guide.

John B. Griffiths

Durango