How touching

From the Letters to the Editor in today's Baltimore Sun

On Sunday, The Sun had several articles on the Baltimore Marathon [more Sun coverage] of the day before ("Antics keep wacky pace to long race," Oct. 16), and not one of them had a word about the horrendous traffic jams that the marathon caused this year, as it does every year.

Thousands of cars were stopped or forced to endure bumper-to-bumper traffic for long periods because, once again, the city did not plan adequately for the event.

Big banners should go up all over the city the day before the marathon, alerting drivers to stay off the roads. Those roads that are to be blocked should have signs warning drivers not to enter them.

Better yet, the city should close Interstate 83 and confine the runners to it.

Some of us have shopping and errands to do on Saturdays, and consider them more important than the desire of a bunch of jerks to run through the streets.

Initially, I was a little sympathetic to the reader's opinion. I'm predisposed to believe that cities can always manage big events like this a little better. Finding ways to notify motorists that traffic in downtown is blocked is a good idea.

But dismissing the runners as "jerks" because somebody is delayed getting to the mall is completely unnecessary.