The Inner Loop was a bad idea in 1960 and time has only made it worse. Express highways were not originaly intended to cut cities into pieces or to create moats around their downtowns. The were a contibuting factor in the death of cities. Making the southern loop portion into a surface boulevard is a step in the right direction. Traffic counts on this portion are light, and it does not justify the maintenance cost of a below grade expressway.

I don't understand why suburbanites find it necessary to interfere with, or even comment upon, any aspects of what city-dwellers enjoy or like about our city. If Mike Governale doesn't like the inner loop he can avoid using it as easily as I avoid driving down Ridge Road in Irondequoit.

I think those who live in suburbia have enough problems (Medley Mall, for example) requiring their immediate attention. Please remove the mote from your own eye before diverting your attention to what may be in ours, thank you.

Louis, if you're going to force me to qualify my statement I'm okay with that... I work downtown and it wasn't that long ago that I moved to Irondequoit from the Swillburg neighborhood. My family's move was a decision based on schools and other factors... so yes, my opinion should weigh slightly less than yours if you live in the city... but only slightly. I use the inner loop every day (literally) to travel between the upper Monroe neighborhood, downtown, and Irondequoit... I also spend a lot of time in the East Ave and Monroe Ave area. I'm not arguing it's usefulness for what it is... a convenience for motorists. I am asking people like yourself to see the possibilities of what it could be. Did you even read my letter? If you're a City-dweller, and you "ENJOY" the inner loop as you say, than I can't argue with that. I can laugh at you, but I can't argue :-)

Suburbanites have an opinion about the inner loop because they use it. They may work in the city, or they may simply visit the city. I have been a resident of the town of Gates for 16 years. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have been in the city that I have not used the inner loop.

I think the inner loop is one of the cities greatest assets---from the point of view of a suburbanite. Just recently, 490E was closed and all that traffic was diverted onto the inner loop. Can you imagine the messy gridlock on surface streets in the city, if that traffic had to be diverted onto city streets?

How about leaving the loop there for those who love it and use it every day and just cover it? Is the plan to fill in the loop a plan to keep suburbanites out of the city?