Want to take a drive? Want to go somewhere special? MSN has just published a list, gathered by Sherman’s Travels, of the Top Ten Scenic Drives in the U.S. Topping the list is the Blue Ridge, which, of course, includes the 105-mile Skyline Drive. Several routes in Hawaii and California made the list, but it’s nice to see that something so close to home get such kudos.
Even closer in, my favorite road has got to be the George Washington Parkway; a curving, winding, smooth road with remarkable views of the river and the monuments as well as the twinkle of the lights from houses all along the way. I know a lot of people like the Rock Creek Parkway but for my money there are too many intersections and too much merging traffic to make this a top-down drive candidate.
SoberRide ready if need be
Just another reminder — Tuesday is the second-deadliest day of the year in terms of alcohol-related incidents on the roadways. That’s why the Washington Regional Alcohol Program will offer its SoberRide program from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Wednesday morning. Call 1-800-200-TAXI if you or a friend has had too much and a cab will be dispatched to your location. That cab will then take you home (only home and not to another party), up to a $50 fare. Since it was launched in Washington 13 years ago, SoberRide has given rides to tens of thousands of people who had had too much and shouldn’t have been behind the wheel, potentially saving a lot of lives. It shouldalso be noted that the program can only be used by those over 21.
Commenting on the interstate highway system
Chris writes with a response: “Steve, as a daily Metrorail rider and regular reader of your column in The Examiner, I couldn’t let the opportunity go by to react to the hysterical news release from the Coalition for Smarter Growth regarding the interstate highway system that you quoted in Friday’s edition.
“I just want to raise a couple of points. First, the CSG folks tout the wonderful and ‘vibrant’ community of Dupont Circle as an example of something that would have been ruined had the region’s system of Interstate highways actually been completed (which, as I’m sure you know, never happened). That is extremely shortsighted. Even if Dupont residents don’t drive the interstates, they benefit from them. That community is “vibrant,” in large part, because of the ready availability and affordability of a host of consumer goods and services — everything from Starbucks coffee to jewelry, art and electronics. That is made possible largely in a country as large as ours by the speed and flexibility of transport via the Interstates. Such wide consumer choice was unknown for all but the wealthy before the Interstates and should not be discounted as a reason why living in a community like Dupont Circle is so pleasant.”
I think we agree that there are good and bad things to come out of a major project that affects an entire nation. The freedom enabled by the interstate system meant that people moved out of the inner city because they didn’t like it or wanted to try something different. The return to the city we are seeing now is a good thing as long as it’s done on a voluntary basis.
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