Editor, The Friday Flyer

I agree with Charles Haftarczyk that the East Gate project should have taken precedence over the RRC Road widening. The widening is not for the benefit of Canyon Lakers. The notion that it will identify" Canyon Lake is positive spin at its finest. We are already identified by what has been one of the most attractive medians and entryways in the area.

The widening will simply expedite the flow of traffic between the 15 and 215 once the Audie Murphy housing project is completed. It will also encourage more arterial traffic and I fear it will exacerbate the gridlock we all experience at Grape Street, and more frequently at the Haun Road – Newport intersection.

Having a six-lane expressway in close proximity will not be advantageous to those of us who live on Cruise Circle and other adjacent streets by any stretch of the imagination, with increases in vehicle exhaust and noise levels as well as potentially lower property values.

I realize we are stuck with it. The pastoral nature of the area surrounding Canyon Lake is quickly becoming a thing of the past. One measure to make the pill less painful would be better speed limit control. On the eastbound stretch of Newport between Sorrel and La Ladera, with a posted speed limit of 45 mph, 60 mph seems to be the norm. I have never once seen anyone cited for speeding on that segment.

If the light at Sorrel is green, people start accelerating well before that point. People do the same thing leaving the one-lane bottleneck where the westbound Newport feeds onto Railroad Canyon. A visible presence of traffic enforcement would help to reduce the increased vehicle noise and exhaust, at least at those two points.

Larry Ronnow