Hitting the Highway

Highway 1 does not address the role of automobiles in our society in any satisfactory way. Looking through the premiere issue (June 25), it is little more than a marketing tool to sell more cars to a complacent public. It serves as a comforting affirmation that all is OK with the world and in particular with our addiction--oops, “love affair”--with cars.

I love cars, but I also know that we have gone too far in this love affair. Under the guise of necessity, we have allowed cars to dominate our lives to the detriment of our health, our emotional well-being and the environment we live in. Cars, along with television, have turned us into a nation of overweight, out-of-shape candidates for premature diabetes, heart disease and other unpleasant afflictions.

Our communities have been turned into a collection of strip malls and parking lots. Our children are deprived of the exercise they need because we drive them everywhere. Our sense of civility has become a victim of road rage.

I am suggesting that Highway 1 be a metaphor for land transportation in all its forms--cars, bikes, public transportation, Amtrak and walking--to raise awareness that there are alternatives to the use of cars and that there are strong health and financial benefits associated with these options.

PAUL W. ROSENBERGER

Manhattan Beach

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Congratulations. The first Highway 1 is a whole lot more than the advertorial I expected. Intelligent, informative stories and graphics--to say nothing about that drop-dead cover shot--bode well for continued success.

JOHN BLOWITZ

Long Beach