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While I believe in science, development, and curing diseases, the planned science city that is part of the Gaithersburg West master plan is a monstrosity that should not be approved. The plan entails adding 40,000 new workers, 5,700 new homes, and five 10- to 12-lane multilevel highway interchanges, all within an area under two square miles with roads that are already extremely congested.

High-rise buildings, 4.6 million square feet of development and 15,000 new workers are proposed for the Belward Farm alone. Talk about dense.

I live in the Stonebridge community across from the farm, and even now it is difficult to bicycle to our neighbors' homes in Washingtonian Woods, less than half a mile away, because the Darnestown Road pedestrian crossing at Muddy Branch Road is too dangerous. And this is after the county recently spent lots of time and money improving the intersection.

Does the county seriously think that by adding massive above-ground interchanges, tens of thousands more cars, and even more lanes to our roads, the area residents will suddenly feel more encouraged to ride bicycles, as envisioned in the plan's "live-work-play" jargon? On the contrary, the proposed plan will only further isolate the neighboring communities from each other and encourage greater car usage. The county does not need to destroy the suburban environment of this wonderful area, nor do they need to further isolate the communities with mega roads and mega interchanges, simply to appease Johns Hopkins because it has acquired an ill-gotten piece of land in the middle of a suburban residential area.

Better, smarter options are available for developing the county's outstanding science resources, and it would behoove the county greatly to more closely study these options before jumping on JHU's bandwagon, only to later find the bandwagon and the county permanently mired in congestion and sprawl.

Michael Gately, North Potomac