I am responding to David Graff's Nov. 24 letter regarding new north-south arterial roads. This critical issue must be solved but is complicated and deserves the best solution -- not the first solution that presents itself or appears to be easy on the surface.
Has Mr. Graff met personally with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Service? Is he familiar with the cost of building roads and bridges or the topography of the proposed alignments or experienced with complex community character issues? Has he met and spoken to Marion Dodson or Supervisor Pam Slater on this issue?
I have met these people and I am familiar with the issues. The proposed alignments were not cost-effective and very likely would never have been built. Supervisor Slater is committed to solving north-south traffic issues in a manner that is cost-effective and will be timely implemented, not just talked about for the next 20 years. It would be a disservice to the citizens of North County if Marion Dodson and her supporters used this opportunity for personal political goals and slowed down a real solution to our traffic problems.

This letter is in response to David Graffs comments on the north-south highway killed by county Supervisor Pam Slater (Letters, Nov. 23). Sadly, he missed the point. First of all, we should be grateful that the proposal was killed. In addition to being an environmental nightmare, cost prohibitive and growth-inducing, it is a classic scam of "build it and they will come." Instead of taking traffic off existing roads, the proposal would have generated so much new traffic that the road would choke on the growth it generates.
Some of the pro-growth cities are really attempting to annex the areas that would become accessible if the road were to be built. As a resident of Solana Beach, perhaps Mr. Graff isn't aware that when you let cities like San Marcos get a foothold, you will induce mass building along the road's length that will spread urban sprawl.
The only way to solve traffic problems is to address the underlying cause, which is unchecked urban development that doesn't mitigate freeway impacts. Until that is done, the best solution is to prohibit general plan changes and density increases.

I read a Nov. 24 letter in the North County Times by David Graff complaining about Supervisor Pam Slater and her opposition to more north-south highways in the North County. The writer saw this as a quality of life issue. While traffic is a growing problem, the destruction of what little remains of the coastal chaparral habitat is a survival issue. Traffic is relative and there are options, such as alternative work stations, flexible work schedules and use of existing rail facilities. The chaparral habitat, however, is an absolute. Once it is gone, it is gone forever.
The highway Supervisor Slater was instrumental in preventing would have destroyed one of the last intact reserves of native plant and animal habitat in the North County, and for that she deserves not only our gratitude but especially that of our children and countless generations to come.
What is happening the world over is right in our own back yard. Let's open our eyes, North County, and champion a cause for which there is no alternative.

David Graff's letter of Nov. 24 was an example of another member of the let's pave San Diego County, never mind if it ends up like Los Angeles County, our cars and our roads come before the quality of life syndrome.
Mr. Graff said he's been in this area since the 1950s. Let me say I've been a resident of San Diego County since the 1930s and still want to save some of what makes it worth living here for.
We should all be grateful to Supervisor Pam Slater for her courage and determination to preserve our quality of life.