Getting There readers had plenty to say about my column on interchange design and motorcycle safety.

David M. Fick of Arnold weighed in with what seems to be useful advice to his fellow bikers:

As a motorcycle rider, I think we also have a responsibility to be more visible. I have a headlight modulator on both of my motorcycles, and have separate driving lights in addition to having my "flashing" high beam on constantly. The headlight modulators are completely legal, and have a daylight sensor that turns them off at night, so the headlight functions normally. There's no way that anyone misses me coming toward them.

I also converted to LED brake lights and use a brake light modulator that gets following drivers' attention. As a young rider in my 20s I had several close calls and two lay-down accidents where someone pulled out in front of me. Now back into riding in my 50s with this new technology I have never had a close call because I make sure I am seen.

What this means, for drivers on four wheels, is that Fick and some of his fellow bikers have gone out of their way to help you avoid SMIDSY crashes - as in Sorry, Mate, I Didn't See You.

When you see flashing headlights coming at you from the other direction, that's a motorcycle. That left turn that seems so urgent can wait.

Not being brave enough to use a motorcycle, I consulted someone who is to check on the merits of Fick's advice. Steven P. Strohmier, state legislative representative for ABATE of Maryland Inc., assured me that "modulating headlights and brake lights are excellent safety additions to motorcycles." Consistent with ABATE's philosophy, Strohmier emphasized that such safety equipment ought not be required.

The design of the interchange at Interstate 70 and U.S. 29 also got readers' attention.

Michael and Lori Gilbert of Ellicott City were pressing the state highway folks for changes at the interchange even before the fatal crash in July that launched a drive to close the lane. In a prescient June 30 letter to the State Highway Administration, they identified the flaws of the current configuration in arguing for the closure of the left-hand turn to a westbound ramp to I-70. They noted that to use the left-turn access to I-70, drivers must cross oncoming traffic on U.S. 29 South.

"Many such drivers are very aggressive in doing so and do not slow down or obey the yield sign," they said.

They add that the redundant left-turn entrance causes backups. "When there is a long line of cars waiting to cross Route 29 South onto I-70 from this left turn lane, the situation can become dangerous, with cars in the left lane of Route 29 North sometimes having to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting cars trying to access the left turn lane."

But Ralph Woods of Sykesville takes issue with the neighbors who want to close the unusual left-turn entrance into westbound 70, which is also served by a more traditional right-hand cloverleaf. Woods said that all you have to do is visit the interchange at the evening rush hour to see that would be "pure folly."

The problems with using only the existing "loop" ramp are: It's only one lane. It cannot handle rush hour volume. The merge onto I-70 is uphill, presenting a problem as tractor-trailers tend to lose speed going uphill, thereby slowing down the flow of traffic. The loop also slows speed and does not allow enough room for vehicles to merge into I-70 at speed.

Woods' suggestion for the long-term is a "sky ramp" carrying northbound U.S. 29 traffic over the southbound lanes until they can safely merge with a widened I-70.

But recognizing the time and money it takes to rebuild a major interchange - think decades and hundreds of millions of dollars - Woods suggests that for a shorter-term fix, the state should make U.S. 29 southbound a single lane from Route 99 to the I-70 interchange.

"This would tend to slow down traffic on U.S. 29 south and would only require the crossing of a single lane of U.S. 29 south to make the left turn at the exit. Not perfect, but maybe better than what we've got now," he wrote.

Good point, Ralph. Why is it so critical to get the southbound traffic on 29 up to warp speed before it has even crossed I-70? Couldn't you treat that short stretch between I-70 and Frederick Road as a transition to and from local traffic?

I'm still not crazy about that unsignaled left, though. Maybe a two-lane roundabout could collect traffic from both directions on 29 and dump it onto westbound 70 with a safe speed trajectory. Maybe you could eliminate both the antiquated cloverleaf and left turns.

State Highway Administrator Neil J. Pedersen said his agency is studying that interchange with an eye to possible changes. "Ultimately we will be guided by safety considerations," he said.

Pedersen said highway officials welcome suggestions - even the "out-of-the-box" musings of amateur highway engineers.

"In some respects, everyone is an expert on highways because we use them so much," he said.