To the editor:

The Oct. 2 editorial about trucks and traffic congestion in Lawrence said, “Lawrence city officials : were blind to the fact that Lawrence was, and is, doing a terribly poor job of planning for increased traffic.”

What traffic proposals have been offered by city leaders or developers for the increased traffic that downtown library expansion and redevelopment will bring? Our downtown has a fragile location right on the river and access to and from it is on narrow city streets through residential neighborhoods.

The traffic grid and carrying capacity of downtown streets cannot be enlarged. Sixth Street has the highest traffic count in the city.

Parking is put forth as the traffic problem when it is actually easy to build up or down. The real problem never discussed is traffic flow. It’s as vital to a healthy downtown as good blood circulation is to life; hence phrases like traffic arteries, traffic circulation and arterial roads.

We can build a larger library and add retail and condo development, but we cannot expand the capacity of city streets in the downtown. The 600 blocks of Kentucky and Vermont are one-way streets – not desirable for retail development anyway. The killer of downtown will be clogged streets, not lack of parking. Traffic planning for downtown should precede any redevelopment.

Renee Morel,

Lawrence