A road is an opportunity
Letter to the Editor
The letter printed on Thursday, "If a road is built, who will come?" identified a road into Juneau as nothing more than a tourist convenience. Juneau's aristocratic sentiment has traditionally been anti-road. While this may be fine for wealthy families who have a few extra thousand dollars to spend, the rest of us who can't afford expensive round-trip ferry or airline tickets for an entire family have a different opinion.
Juneau's affluent also quickly forget that a road into Juneau is also a road out of Juneau. The American tradition of loading up the family car for an affordable summer vacation has brought families closer together ever since the invention of the automobile. Every Juneauite becomes a tourist when we leave Juneau, so in that respect a road into Juneau is a tourist convenience for all of us who would like to get out of town occasionally and become tourists ourselves.
The recent dockworker's lockout could have been disastrous for Juneau had they not decided to continue shipments to Alaska. Something as benign as fog kept our airport closed for much of this week. And let's not forget the unpredictable nature of war, which America is fighting and will surely see escalate.
A road into Juneau would open up all kind of opportunities for transportation, travel, commerce, as well as better access to hunting, fishing, sightseeing, and affordable housing. It's time that Juneauites recognize that a Juneau road is not a Juneau decision. Every Alaskan and every American deserves affordable access to our state's capital.
A road into Juneau isn't a convenience. It's an opportunity.
Steve Robertson
Juneau