The town of Malta, knowing that it’s going to be growing, wants to avoid the typical suburban sprawl as it does. Thus, for the last 10 years, it has been planning to create a traditional commercial downtown along Route 9. Last Wednesday it took about 10 minutes for Brian Rowback, the state Department of Transportation’s regional director, to put that plan in jeopardy, as he objected to a key component of it: on-street parking on Route 9.

Rowback gave the same reason highway engineers always do for widening and straightening roads, cutting down trees, flattening embankments, etc. safety. On-street parking has the “potential” for conflicts between parking cars, pedestrians and faster-moving traffic, he said. It appears that in the quest for perfect safety (or is it smooth-flowing traffic?), one can’t be too careful — even if it means living in a community that’s not very livable.

Other downtowns with highways running through them, and this highway in particular, come to mind: Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Glens Falls and Warrensburg. And they came to Rowback’s as well. But instead of viewing them as positive examples of viable business districts, due largely to the presence of the highway, Rowback presented them as negatives. If they hadn’t already been there before the state developed the road in the 1920s, he seemed to suggest, they would never have been allowed. After all, NOT SAFE.

Actually, parked cars could make things safer, by slowing down through traffic and providing a buffer between traffic and pedestrians (who would be using the sidewalks also called for in Malta's master plan). With parked cars on one side and storefronts on the other, people would have a safe, interesting place to walk. It’s called a “downtown.”

Rowback’s ideal for Route 9 is Route 67, a car-oriented place with traffic slowed by a median and roundabouts. It’s a highway engineer’s dream. What it’s not is a downtown, something that Malta and other towns should be able to have if they want.