the disconnect is too large to ignore

I read this letter (below) to the Editor in the Philly Inquirer this morning and found that this letter just about sums up the biking and car fight going on in all parts of the country today where cylists and cars share the same space.

This attitude of cyclists thinking they are right and motorists thinking they are right has not changed in many years. A cyclists gets hit by a car, car's fault, a motorist is hindered by a bike, cyclist's fault. I have never seen a discussion where someone actually looked at the accident from both sides. Who really was at fault?? and what can be done to prevent it again??

There is no planning anywhere except a few cities such as Portland and Boulder. In cities in the "rust belt", there is little planning and if there is, it is not with cars and bikes in mind. One side pushes its agenda and the other side pushes its agenda.

I was biking on rt 52 in Delaware this morning riding along this rather busy highway in a nice bike lane. I get to the Pennsylvania border and voila, no more bike lane.

I do think bike lanes along heavily traveled roads are a good idea. A nice wide shoulder is all it takes to lessen the anger between motorist and cyclist.

The disconnect between motorist and cylist had made no progress at all over the years. Read the letter below to see an interesting point of view.

City bike lanes were ill-conceived

Although the dedicated bike lanes in the city were well-intentioned, they were ill-conceived. Very few people are foolish enough to actually use them. They are dangerous for the bicyclist, pedestrians, and drivers - who have accidents trying to avoid the bicycles.

Technically, almost all drivers break the law whenever they make a right turn across the bike lanes. But what is the alternative? The laws regarding turns over a bike lane - if there are any - are vague and unenforceable for practical reasons.

As more and more people join the foolish few who ride their bikes in city traffic, it is inevitable that more people will get killed or injured. You can blame the driver, the cyclist, weather, pedestrians, or anyone else, but the real blame should go to the myopic-minded folks who approved this blunder.

Center City traffic is already horrible during commuter hours. Apparently it made sense to our city planners to spend a bundle of taxpayer money to take one lane away from cars and create a lane that very few people use.

Vernon J. Linder

Perkasie