LETTERS: SCENIC BYWAY PLAN THREATENS RIGHTS

To the editor:

I have been reviewing the Missouri Department of Transportation's proposed Scenic Byway Program, and I do not like what I see. The department is using the enticement of increased tourism while wrecking private-property rights as we now have in Missouri. The 84-page plan calls for designation and management of "corridors" that are as wide as the eye can see from the state highways and county roads.

Quoting from the "Community Guide to Corridor Planning for Scenic Byways," the corridor "includes all the areas that visually impact the experience from the roadway. ... Everything that is within your sight from the roadway is called the viewshed. In terms of analysis, this will give you the basic width of the corridor."

The guide goes on to say this will be the area for which a management plan will be developed. The guide describes land acquisition, easements, planning and zoning, sign regulations and land regulation as effective ways to manage everything as far as the eye can see, including my and your private property.

This is a state-sponsored plan. We taxpayers have state representatives and state senators who answer to us. Keep those calls and letters coming, and don't forget your county commissioners and city planners. The management plan is available from MoDOT. Your taxes paid for the printing. Get a copy.

OPAL KOTSCHEDOFF

Salem