To the Editor:

I recently experienced the new US Route 1 traffic pattern imposed by the DOT. Northbound drivers can no longer make left turns into Princeton at Washington Road or Harrison Street, but must detour up to the Scudders Mill overpass. Southbound drivers may no longer turn left at Washington Road, but must detour to the Alexander Road overpass.

Although the rush-hour blockage of US Route 1 by left-turning cars at those intersections is a real problem, the solution reminds me of the adage of swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. To give one example. The detour from Washington Road to Scudders Mill Road and back clocks 2.5 miles. If 1,000 cars are forced to take this roundabout route on a daily basis this would total 2,500 miles or more than 80 gallons of wasted fuel. Not only is this expensive ($280 a day, $102,000 a year) but it is environmentally harmful. And that involves only one of the three newly prohibited turns.

Surely a problem that occurs only two hours a day, five days a week can be addressed without penalizing everyone at every time. What, for instance, about closing those jughandles only for weekend rush hours. The newly legal cameras could be set up to detect illegal turners and the fines should be a welcome source of income to the DOT.

Whatever is eventually decided, the current situation is unacceptable.

Fred Hirsch

Chestnut Street