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The proposed White Flint Sector Plan developed by Montgomery County looks very promising. It is refreshing to finally see a move to the right direction. However, the analyses done by other parties are valuable and should be given serious consideration. It is promising to know that we have so many knowledgeable elements in our county.

When L'Enfant planned Washington in a mud hole, he brought with him knowledge and vision. He was able to create a lasting masterpiece. Vision was the key element.

Over half a century of my life and my architectural practice, I have been within the proximity of Rockville Pike. I witnessed its untamed growth with dismay, sorrow, and frustration. From almost a rural road 60 years ago, I watched it become a major unqualified artery. While I-270 was developing nicely as a technology corridor, Rockville Pike was becoming an ugly substantial shopping corridor, with no character.

This was not due to any budget strains or lack of knowledge, but was due to lack of vision.

Almost all attempts for development were judged first by failing intersections. Yet, for 40 years, somehow, improvements were done and some sporadic growth took place. Unfortunately, the misconception of keeping Rockville Pike as a major artery took precedence.

Today, with the suggested White Flint Sector Plan, finally we have a project that brings some vision. If comments are made in terms of why it can't be done, they become not constructive but destructive. And therefore the knowledge interjected by the experts of the county goes wasted. We should consider this a last opportunity and make something desirable out of the Rockville Pike, with team effort.

Instead saying why we cannot do it, we must approach the matter how we can do it. All parties should become part of the solution, not part of the problem.

First thing we should realize is that Rockville Pike is not and cannot be a major artery anymore. Actually it never was. It is already a shopping street and will remain that way until it will become totally undesirable, difficult to shop, and impossible to commute.

For all practical purposes the facts are as follows: it is only five miles from the Beltway to Rockville; with a 35 mph speed limit it [should] be only nine minutes to go the distance; with some stops along the way at major intersections, it may be 15 to 18 minutes.

Today the same trip takes over 30 minutes. And the reason has never been the speed or the amount of vehicles, but lack of proper synchronization of the red lights. Yes, there is no proper synchronization at all at Rockville Pike. And it has always been frustrating.

Years ago I used to commute on 16th Street, from D.C. to the Beltway. If the speed limits posted were observed, one could have gone almost nonstop to Silver Spring. Today with the use of cameras it is becoming possible to maintain the posted speeds, therefore making the synchronization work at its best.

A good synchronization and intelligent crossroads planning will make the future of Rockville Pike a viable improvement that we can all be proud of.

We must think in terms of next century, not in terms of today's problems. And we must never lose the vision.

Turgut A. Karabekir, Rockville