For the past year-and-a-half one to two days a week, my travels have taken me down the “alley” Mount Airy calls Park Drive between Reeves and Forrest drives. This is the street that lies behind Chick-fil-A, Asian House and Biscuitville, for those who may not be familiar.

I never really paid any attention to the street until I started using it. And from the beginning, I have wondered why the street is a two-way road, but despite it being a narrow passage, I’ve traveled it in both directions at different times.

This week, the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners will consider a proposal to limit the “alley” to one-way traffic only, in the direction opposite from the way I normally travel. The proposal is to make traffic on the road travel from Reeves Drive south to Forrest Drive. That means those of us who go north on Park Drive will have to dogleg over to Marshall Heights Street.

While I’m not necessarily elated about the city’s decision to consider the proposal, or to pass it if that’s what the commissioners do, I full understand the reasoning.

Upon traveling the road, cars have to nearly drive on the grass on the edges of the road in order to pass one another, and this is causing mudholes on the sides of the road. And it is a hazard, especially when one or both of the cars don’t slow down while they are passing. As tight as the street is, it’s a wonder vehicles haven’t collided.

In addition, I’ve noticed since the opening of Chick-fil-A, which has an exit onto Park Drive near the Reeves Drive intersection, traffic has nearly doubled in frequency along the little alley.

In this case, limiting traffic to one-way is a good idea, and one the commissioners should consider approving, even if it does mean I’m going to have to travel from the babysitter’s house to work on a new route. It’s a small price to pay to keep my car safe from others traveling the alley.

Wendy Byerly Wood is the associate editor of The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at wbyerly-wood@heartlandpublications.com or at 719-1923.