Downtown L.A.’s too-green bike lane; keeping California’s state parks open; and the L.A. Marathon

Going too green?

Re “More than a color clash,” March 16

I was greatly saddened by the snafu regarding the green bike lane in front of City Hall interfering with the film industry’s use of a prime location.

I have been a bicycle commuter for five years, and let’s be honest, Angelenos treat our streets like highways. For a better city, we need to change this.

We no longer have residential areas, just shortcuts for speeding cars. Just crossing a street is dangerous, let alone bicycling.

I applaud the green strip system; it makes bicycling safer.

I am sorry that it has caused problems. Perhaps this issue is proof that all industries need to get involved with creating a feasible bicycle infrastructure.

Matthew Robertson

Sherman Oaks

In a digital era when computer graphics easily replace entire backgrounds in seconds, it is ludicrous to argue that some green paint from a bike lane can possibly thwart our cinema

wizards.

As the era of cheap gas comes to an end and we rely more heavily on alternatives, including public transportation, we will be seeing more bike lanes, not fewer. Drivers, pedestrians and location managers need to start paying attention and adjusting.

Yes, equipment will from time to time end up in front of cyclists; let’s hope they’re alert enough to deal with it.

Those green lanes will sprout in other cities, and what will film and television producers do then?

Fred Glienna

South Pasadena

There is a way to “get it right.” Put the bicycle lane between the sidewalk and parked cars and separate them with a small curb.

This is how it is done in countries where the bicycle is considered a serious means of transportation.

This separation solves a number of problems: Cars do not have to cross the bicycle lane for parking, and cyclists get a safer ride.

Judi Tentor

San Diego

Congratulations to the city’s Department of Transportation for its innovative new green bike lanes in downtown. Shame on our film industry for being so quick to criticize the bike lanes, whining that the lanes make their jobs more difficult.

What does it say about our film industry if they’re not creative enough to temporarily mask a simple green bike lane?

Kevin Hopps

Valley Village

Parks are places for respite

Re “A penny-foolish parks plan,” Editorial, March 17

In tough times, people return to basics. Budgets are tightened and daily life becomes more elemental.

In forays to the local state parks, I can see this truism playing itself out each weekend, as the trails are more used, the parking lots fuller and the picnic benches more occupied.

California’s incredible state park system is a necessary refuge in hard times (and also in good times) and should not be targeted to divert a relatively few drops into the budget shortfall bucket.

Rather than shuttering parks, we need to make sure that they are up and running. This may require some out-of-the-box thinking, raising additional revenue and partnering with sponsors that are willing to embrace the mission of the system.

Although I agree with your editorial that far fewer parks, if any, should be closed because the financial savings are minimal, the crucial point to me is that Californians are demonstrating — with their increased utilization of our state parks — the importance of maintaining parklands and open space.

Larry Drapin

Malibu

Two sides of the L.A. Marathon

Re “Out for a long Sunday run,” March 19

To all the volunteers and spectators who participated in the Los Angeles Marathon, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you did to make my first-ever marathon an awesome experience.

Every neighborhood was filled with cheering crowds offering food, music and encouragement. Volunteers were ready with sports drinks, water and high-fives.

A sign hung at a Trader Joe’s said it all: “If you need to have your faith in mankind restored, watch a marathon.”

L.A. exemplified all that is best in human nature on Sunday.

Elizabeth Grace

Lakewood

We are Angelenos who live within the marathon’s geographic boundaries.

We are held captive in our homes for most of the day of the marathon. Emergency and service vehicles would not be able to reach us if we should need them.

Although the newscast ends in the late morning, the road closures remain most of the day. The police, transportation and clean-up costs must be enormous. I resent this for many reasons, particularly because the winners often are professional runners from other countries.

Ann C. Hayman

West Los Angeles

The meaning of a cross

Re “Government says hilltop cross should stay,” March 16

Find an atheist who believes that a lone Christian cross perched on a hillside is more representative of soldiers fallen in battle than it is of Christianity, and we could all join to keep it whole.

But the 1st Amendment’s separation of church and state is intended for all Americans, not just the great majority who believe in God.

To suggest otherwise is a falsehood and a decidedly un-Christian misrepresentation.

Patraic Kelly

Corona

If the Muslim community in San Diego were demanding that the Mt. Soledad cross be removed, then the solicitor general’s argument that removal would “unnecessarily foster the very divisiveness over religion that the Constitution was designed to avoid” might have some merit.

The reality, however, is that critics of the cross are united in their respect for the 1st Amendment, not in their commitment to a specific religion.

It’s noticeable that pro-cross zealots refer to it invariably as a war memorial, insinuating that their opponents lack respect for fallen veterans.

However, they never propose replacing the cross with a genuinely secular memorial that would be inclusive of all those who have lost their lives defending our country.

John Kerridge

Del Mar

Fracturing the Earth

Re “Fracking is widely used in state,” March 15

I find it shocking that the practice of “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing), reportedly occurring at thousands of locations in California, can be carried out in such secrecy with so few regulations.

The industry’s argument that it cannot disclose what chemicals are used in the process because it would compromise trade secrets is ridiculous. The statement by Tupper Hull, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Assn., that he “believes” that fracking is a safe practice would be laughable were this not so important.

With the possible contamination of drinking water suspected in other states, it is imperative that California quickly develop regulations for the fracking process.

Gertrude E. Barden

Porter Ranch

Justice

Re “A costly court loss for home insurer,” March 18

Thank you for such a well-written article: “An elderly Hollywood Hills resident whose home was nearly destroyed when a dump truck crashed into it, rupturing a gas line and causing an explosion, was awarded more than $8 million after jurors found that his insurance company ... failed to honor its contract.”

What a disgusting thing to happen. Thank God for a sensible jury.

Patricia Mace

Los Angeles