I don’t even care if you still live here: if you have any love in your heart for me at all, you need to go read this and then go write a letter here. I recommend something like this:

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently read in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that MoDOT is considering closing Highway 64/40 from Kingshighway to 270 during its renovations. I also read that MoDOT was gauging public opinion on this possibility, but not in any broad or meaningful way. There will apparently be some phone polling done, but since I have never met anyone who has actually been a part of one of these polls, I felt it was important to write in and make sure my own opinion was counted.

In short, closing this huge stretch of highway is one of the worst ideas in local history. Let’s level with one another: whether the road stays open or not, we all know that this project is going to stretch on interminably. If implemented, this move will shut down what is essentially the only useful part of highway 40 for the rest of my natural life. The best I can hope for is that, on the day it is reopened, someone will think of me and say, “Granddad would have loved this.”

You might as well just go ahead and build a wall between the city and the suburbs. There are entire parts of town that chunks of the population will literally not know how to get to anymore, myself definitely included. I feel lucky when I can find my car in my own garage, and most St. Louisans aren’t even as bright as I am. This dimwitted move, if implemented, will have wide-ranging implications for everything from downtown revitalization to sporting event attendance. We might as well go ahead and close the zoo.

The whole reason the highway needs renovation is because everyone uses it to get everywhere. I cannot believe this idea is even on the table; the suggestion is reason enough to question your basic cognitive abilities collectively.

Thank you for your time.

Warmest Personal Regards,
jimski.net