Thanks, in part, to the work being done on the Commonwealth Avenue bridge and its effects recently on the Mass. Pike, there has been a focus on the subject of traffic. Traffic problems highlight population pressure. We see this here and around the globe. The Big Dig cost a bundle, and was an attempt to accommodate population growth.

I wrote to the CEO of Amazon, who is considering 50,000 new jobs for Boston in a second headquarters, and said, “I live in a lovely suburb of Boston already infested with heavy traffic. Don’t add to that and reduce our quality of life.’’ Feeling ornery, I suggested that instead he could (and he could) buy Rhode Island.

It seems weird that our politicians would even consider, much less invite, Amazon, with the prospect of all those people — and their vehicles. What would be the terms? New bridges? Maintenance of roads? Forget affordable housing.

Boston, with concerns about climate change, is not going to build out to sea. That means building vertical sardine cans, and that means more underpaid commuters creating congestion on the roads out of Boston.

Let’s get real. More people, more traffic. That’s not a slogan. That’s the new reality.

Lenore C. Frazier

Winchester