Susan Marie H. Jones
Charlottesville

It’s time for the silliness to stop — by the activists opposed to the Meadowcreek Parkway as well as their political enablers.

I am thankful that Dave is running for the Democratic nomination for re-election to Charlottesville City Council.

Earmark money requested by Sen. John Warner was for an interchange serving the parkway and U.S. 250 and not the Meadowcreek Parkway itself.

The interchange is an obvious necessity

I am sure that benefactor Paul Goodloe McIntire would be livid over the lease-out of parkland for a private building and the sell-out of parkland for a road.

Although I no longer live in Charlottesville’s urban ring, my ongoing interest in the future of the city prompts serious doubts about the proposal to place a new YMCA building in McIntire Park.

Paul Goodloe McIntire left the land for “all citizens to enjoy.”

Let’s all remember what was happening in our country when John W. Warner brought home the bacon to Charlottesville.

Legislators cannot “give” money to anyone or for any purpose. They can only take the earnings of some taxpayers and redistribute it to others.

It is unfortunate that elected officials in Charlottesville and Albemarle are willing to move forward with the Meadowcreek Parkway project, despite public outcries.

McIntire Park is a natural resource that deserves protection from the threats of encroaching asphalt and concrete. The Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club urges our government leaders to reconsider past planning decisions for the Meadowcreek Parkway and a YMCA in our central park.

McIntire Park is a public city park and should be retained as open space in an increasingly overbuilt city.

I am sure that the belief of Paul Goodloe McIntire, benefactor of McIntire park, was that he was placing “protecting the land forever.“

The Meadowcreek Parkway is not the true issue.