Community Input Was Consistently Trivialized I am enclosing excerpts from the letter I have written to Rob . Draper, Director of the National Scenic Byways Program. I urge everyone who has been left out of the discussion on whether or not Highway 12 should be designated des-ignated a federal All-American Highway to call, write, email or fax this gentleman. He can be reached at: Rob Draper, Director - FHWA National Scenic Byways Program - 400 Seventh Street SW - Room 3222, HEPM - Washington, DC 20590 - Phone (202) 366-4649 or 1-800-4BYWAYS (1-800-429-9297) or Fax (202) 366-7660 366-7660 - Email: rdraperbyways.org. Excerpts from that letter: Dear Mr. Draper, .... I am deeply concerned about the application for designation desig-nation of State Scenic Byway 12 to become an All-American Highway. Having failed to persuade per-suade any of the local representatives represen-tatives to seriously consider the negative impacts of this designation desig-nation or the flawed nature of the application process I am writing to you for assistance in stopping this proposal. Community input has been consistently trivialized to the extent that at the meeting I attended in Boulder, Utah, I was told that the application for designation des-ignation was a "done deal" prior to any community discussion. The Steering Committee would only entertain discussion about the Corridor Management Plan, and not whether or not we supported sup-ported the application for designation desig-nation itself. Although in Boulder, and later in Escalante, a number of citizens stood up to voice their objections and concerns, they were essentially put off as irrelevant. irrel-evant. This, in spite of the fact that the plan explicitly states, on page 5: "through community support (italics added) the corridor corri-dor management plan may be used to apply for National Scenic Byway Designation, specifically, All-American Road Status." There are valid concerns about the negative aspects of an increase in tourists to an area not yet up to speed from the notoriety notori-ety the Grand Staircase-Escalante Staircase-Escalante National Monument designation brought to our com munity. These concerns range from the negative impact increased high-speed high-volume traffic has on our agricultural agricul-tural and rural lifestyle and the -degradation of the literal isolation isola-tion and remoteness that many of us who live here value, to questions about private property rights and increased taxes. The road itself is truly eccentric eccen-tric by modern standards. At times twisty, narrow, steeply inclined, poorly graded, and (See LETTERS on page 4-A) Letters To The Editor From Page 2-A without guardrails, its very nature (intrinsic qualities, if you will allow me to use government-speak) forces traffic to move more slowly. It is also relatively rel-atively accident-free. Designation will among other things, bring attention to these quirks. "Safety" issues, etc. will irrevocably change this charming piece of history so that ultimately it will look like every other road in the nation: smooth, as straight as physically possible, passing lanes for those in a hurry, and so on. The slower slow-er pace of rural life will go the way of the dinosaur. Unfortunately, these are intrinsic intrin-sic qualities that were never addressed in any meeting by any committee member. Essentially, then, there are three major concerns at issue: 1. Because the format of the Plan addresses only specific pre-named pre-named characteristics ("intrinsic qualities") it overlooks others that are typical of this area and are of equal, if not more value, but that would be negatively impacted were this designation to occur. 2. Community input, if it is not supportive of the Plan, has been completely ignored. The Steering Committee is made up primarily of representatives of the Tourist Industry and Government Agencies and is not representative of the community at large. The Plan was written to arrive at a particular outcome, not to weigh all considerations equally. 3. The Corridor Management Plan is seriously flawed, not only in being an attempt to be the means by which a pre-deter-mined goal is reached, but also in its use of extremely broad and ambiguous terms such as "improvements" and "safety issues." With this terminology, almost anything could be permitted. per-mitted. A final, for the time being, objection to designation, is the theme park mentality that prevails pre-vails among the pro-designation people. Their suggestion is that this road be called "Journey Through Time." According to the literature, everything pertaining per-taining to the road eventually ties into this theme. I am not denying that it may be possible to achieve this worthless goal; I am protesting the type of conformity-minded groupthink that deems this important. In a mindless rush to grab tourist dollars, we will sacrifice our very individuality? Please, not here. Not yet." Gwendolyn Zeta Boulder