Bike Safety
Dear Editor: On the front page of Monday’s paper, there was a picture of a child riding a bicycle in the road. When my children were 5, 6, 7 and 8 years old, I told them, clearly, NEVER ride in the road. At that young age, I told them to always ride on the sidewalk. Be respectful of people walking, and if the sidewalk seems full, then get off your bike and walk.
The open road is much too dangerous for a child. The right side of the road may be clear for a while, but often a parked car requires the rider to swerve onto the road where cars are trying to pass the slow rider. The rider and the car driver must be aware of this situation at all times.
Unfortunately, a very young rider may not be able to view or signal the dangerous re-entry into traffic. Unfortunately, all drivers are not going to be watching for a rider, especially a small rider, to go from the parking lane to the traffic lane. I feel that the adults in charge of the children’s bicycle event last weekend are dead wrong to tell a child to ride in the street. I fear that this lapse in rational judgment could really be a deadly mistake.
Jim DiGennaro, Sitka
Simple Plan
Dear Editor: Maybe we really can tax our way to prosperity. Here’s the very, very simply plan:
First we hire every Sitka person as a city employee with good medical insurance and a retirement plan. Then we vote ourselves a raise so we can all pay more taxes.
Make our city great again.
R. Spike Arnold, Sitka
