And of how the process of soliciting public comment has become a joke. It was of no moment that the citizens wanted neither because it would bring urban sprawl, destroy valuable farmland and create more congestion. Many preferred an expansion of the highway straight through the city along an abandoned rail line. The DOT, as a rule, holds Georgia-style hearings. I'm not making this up.
Information is presented and citizens sit and listen.
Those who wish to make a comment are directed to make it alone to a court reporter. I'll buy lunch if any decision-maker reads the transcripts that result. These are, after all, just citizens. But this night, the same night as the second presidential debate, the DOT agreed to hold a brief listening session in the high school auditorium. It would last 90 minutes, sans Jim Lehrer, with three DOT people in front-one being a court reporter.