Blacksburg has a population of 39,000 people, how heavy could the traffic be?
Visibility is good but these bikes aren't meant to be ridden sitting bolt upright. Ride risers if that's your style but at least get a stem extension that doesn't put 100% of your weight on your ass. Take some time to get used to the more aggressive posture your bike is meant for and you'll probably find you actually like it once you get past the adjustment from what you're probably used to.
I go to Virginia Tech. Try riding in 9AM class change traffic across campus. It gets pretty hairy.
I'm not quite completely upright, but definitely after an extended ride I start to feel somewhat.... cramped in my current cockpit setup. That, and the lack of hand positions starts to suck.
I guess it all eventually boils down to context. Shorter, casual point A to point B rides are great with the short stem and risers setup, but roadie-esque training rides (rollers or road) probably should be done with a legit "road" setup.