It's no fun to live on a street that was sleepy when you moved in and now has become a clogged thoroughfare. If we plan carefully, we can decrease commuting times, gasoline and automobile maintenance costs, and day care expenditures, thereby improving people's quality of life and our natural environment. Right now, we are in the practice of developing areas outside of the city because the land is more available and cheaper than plots closer to cities. This practice does not consider the added cost of a longer commute into the city, and the construction of additional roads that must be built to accommodate the new commuters. These new roads, and the added car trips, prove harmful to salmon.
Roads are rivers of erosion.
Their construction often requires that streams are rerouted or straightened. Also, paving over natural areas interrupts nature's methods of catching and filtering water. Furthermore, petroleum products are poisons to fish. Fuel that leaks or is spilled from cars washes into local stormdrains and sewers, and ultimately makes its way into nearby rivers and streams. We don't need to abandon our cars, but rather use them in tandem with other transportation strategies, such as public transportation and biking, so we don't overbuild our infrastructure or waste our lives sitting in traffic.