Letter: Consider the impact of a traffic light on the environment

Ailanto properties (in an ad on page 11a of the February 22 issue Half Moon Bay Review) says, "40 homes can be built on Pacific Ridge without a traffic signal, saving us the cost of constructing this $1,000,000+ public works project".

If that’s true, I would say do it, and donate the saved $1,000,000 to the proposed park purchase.

If 3,000 vehicles pass the traffic light in each direction every week day, that’s 1.4 million cars passing the light every year.  If only 15% stopped at the light for two minutes, that’s 432,000 minutes, or 300 lost days per year. Adding weekend/special event traffic would make this a 365 lost days or a full lost year. This would repeat itself every year.

That’s equivalent to having an idling vehicle running 24 hours a day, 365 days per year forever spewing out carbon monoxide and other pollutants. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of our environmental efforts, such as Bike to Work Day?

In the past 10 years I have lived on Terrace there have not been any accidents at this intersection. This looks like a "massacre" of environmental common sense to me.

Jerry Steinberg, CE
Half Moon Bay