By way or my way---think ferries.

I received a letter from a Sandpoint High grad today asking how the "bypass" was coming. I did not laugh out loud because I respect her and I think she was asking a serious question as a person who doesn't live here. She hasn't driven through Sandpoint for a couple of years, and she knew about the Lakeside Motel going down in preparation for the "byway," as the PC clinicians would have me refer to it.

I think she worried about hitting a nerve after reading my response, which said things about "now pushing 60 years of debate," "road rage," etc. So, I reassured her that I'm patient, like everyone else, except for those times when I get stuck in those gawd-awful traffic jams on summer days. That's when I think about byway opponents and wonder if they ever drive their cars through Sandpoint at the same time all the rest of us dumb saps do.

I've often said that all byway opponents ought to publicly demonstrate the true passion of their convictions by willingly taking a trip from the south end of the Bridge to Kootenai every single summer day from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Once they've done this for a complete summer, if they still feel the byway is a stupid idea, then the rest of us will take them seriously.

I also suggested to this morning's email writer that the likelihood of any alternative route ever coming to fruition during our lifetimes is pretty minimal, especially when you consider what land is selling for in these parts these days.

How many downtown folks are going to give away their high-priced city real estate to build the tunnel under Sandpoint? How many folks at or near Dover Bay do ya spose will offer the State a discount on acreage destined for an alternative route? Once things get popping out there at the Idaho Club's Jack Nicklaus residential golf course east of Sandpoint, I'm sure land values anywhere within a 15-mile perimeter of the facility will sky rocket.

Let's see. That leaves north-of-town properties to buy. Well, ya gotta get north of town to bypass the town, so that leaves the waters of Lake Pend Oreille or the air above us. I think helipads in strategic areas around the Sandpoint area might be even more cost restrictive for the general Joe's who have to get from Sagle to Kootenai to earn their keep.

So, I still believe the ferry system is the answer. It's got ambiance, and we all know how important that is in Sandpoint. Ferry transportation across beautiful Lake Pend Oreille or even the river will get folks to where they're going without all those gas fumes from cars and cows stinkin' up downtown Sandpoint. This option also gives the vehicle drivers and their passengers time for reflecting on the area's beauty, especially all those fancy second homes, owned by rich people, that continue to dot the mountainsides where trees once stood.

Best yet, during their waterway transport, the ferry passengers would also have a few moments to pick up the newspaper, sit back and read more articles about the byway, the tunnel, the gold-plated land for sale at Schweitzer or about the new-and-improved Hidden Lakes, turned Idaho Club, where everybody knows ya've gotta be rich through the roof to live and play.

Down with byways! Down with tunnels! GO FERRIES! Then, you could get to Bonner's Ferry a lot sooner. By the way, didn't Bonner's Ferry get a byway several years ago?