Traffic congestion is the proverbial “rain on the parade” of suburbanites headed for work every morning and back to paradise in the evening. Circling “trafficopters” report with CNN-like urgency of another accident on the north side, backing up traffic for miles. Wrecker is on the way, seek alternative routes. Then there are the cheerful reminders that orange barrels have sprouted like spring flowers along the interstate. DOT is widening and smoothing the linear parking lot. “Stuck in traffic” is the great equalizer -- lawyers headed downtown from their golf course subdivision, real estate agents trying to sell more homes out there, professors headed to campus from their modest bungalows in the inner ring, city dwellers heading to the auto plant built in open countryside, and farmers trying to move equipment on what used to be rural roads. There can be no doubt that people from all parts of this metropolitan area are caught in the same web, their actions and choices impinge on those of others.
By Lawrence Libby
