Council should rethink bike lanes

I would like to refer to the report of the council meeting of Feb. 17 (“City pushes ahead on new bicycle lanes”). The report indicates that only I and another person are against the bike lane. However, many more have voiced their objections. Since we were never included in the “public hearing,” we were hardly able to let the City Council know how we feel.

Anybody who believes that the bike lane is for our safety should take the trouble and spend the weekend seeing the bikers not staying in their lane but instead traveling with 2-4 people side-by-side visiting. If the report is true, then Sgt. Mark Slater will be issuing tickets, which should be a great money maker for the city.

The bottom line is this: The City Council decides what is good for the residents, but has conducted itself without the residents’ input, and that is just plain wrong. City Council members have a responsibility to all, not just a chosen few. Let us all keep in mind that today it is us, and tomorrow it will be you. We should all remember this when we go to the voting polls.

I would like to thank Mr. Roger Johnson for his letter to the editor on Feb. 24. We have always been proud to live on Descanso Drive and found it to be a very beautiful and scenic street, but now our street has turned into another Foothill Boulevard. Shame on the City Council for making such poor decisions.

Gisela Rumohr

La Cañada Flintridge

Bicyclists should obey road rules

I think it’s great that we now have new bike lanes on many of our roads in La Cañada.

I can only hope now that bicycle riders have their own lanes, they will start obeying the rules of the road by signaling turns, obeying speed limits and stopping for stop signs.

I’ve even seen whole families ride through stop signs, paying no mind to the danger it poses and the bad example it sets for the children.

A few days ago, an oncoming bicyclist on Berkshire ran a stop sign at full speed and made a sudden left-hand turn in front of me as I was also turning. I almost hit him. He got very angry and inflicted a full dose of road rage on me, as if it was my fault.

Unbelievable. The nerve of some people.

I would also ask the Sheriff’s department to step up monitoring of these new bike lanes (especially on weekends) and give out tickets to bicyclists who refuse to obey the basic rules of the road.

Sooner or later, there’s going to be a bike/car accident if this sort of behavior continues and someone, maybe a neighbor or friend of ours, will get severely injured.

Paul Biggs

La Cañada Flintridge