The hundreds of people who crowded a hearing room in Davis County last Friday said they have had enough when it comes to delays in construction of the Legacy Parkway, and who could blame them?

The highway's opponents act as if this is the place in the sand where they have to draw a line; that if the parkway is built, it will lead to unsightly sprawl and uncontrolled growth. The only problem with that position is that it ignores one huge fact — the growth already is there.

The Legacy Parkway isn't being planned as a way to deal with predicted growth. (Would that transportation planners could be so ahead of the curve.) No, it is vitally needed to deal with growth that already has occurred and to alleviate congested traffic on I-15 that is unsafe and hazardous to the environment. The plan also coincides with the simultaneous construction of a commuter rail line into Davis County, which would take a predicted 6 percent of the commuting public off the roads. It also would create a 2,098-acre nature preserve as well as a trail system for bicycles, horses and pedestrians.

Without the parkway, the land in question would be developed. It would become store fronts and strip malls and housing developments. The opponents of Legacy operate under a fallacy that says freeways create growth. In reality, people move far from the city because land is cheaper, schools are perceived to be better and crime rates are lower, among other reasons. That's why places like Utah County's Eagle Mountain come to life almost overnight despite the lack of any freeways in the vicinity.

When it comes to Davis County, the need is critical. The area's only link with Salt Lake City is through I-15. When an accident occurs, or when traffic bogs down, that link is closed. Not only is this a source of frustration, it inhibits the flow of commerce. The only thing it does not do, apparently, is inhibit growth.

Environmentalists successfully sued to stop construction of the project in 2001. The court told the state and the Army Corps of Engineers to restudy the parkway's impacts. Now, a new study has been issued with greater detail and a slight narrowing of the highway's median. Meanwhile, a lot of time has been wasted and nothing has improved at all for the folks who live in Davis County and work in points south.

For their part, the environmentalists have proposed an alternative that would extend Redwood Road to the north — a plan that is inadequate. Their rallying cry is one that has been heard in various forms across America since the 1960s — we don't want to become Los Angeles.

We agree. But the only thing worse than a sprawling Los Angeles would be a sprawling Los Angeles without any freeways.