Dear Editor:
RE: Bike lanes great and ‘Fossil-fuel fools’, July 29.
The first letter heading “Bike lanes great” is one I whole-heartedly support!
Cycling, for those who are able, is a terrific and ecologically-ideal way to get around. I never once suggested that bike lanes were a bad idea; what my letter stated was that putting them on St. David Street was dangerous.
I also pointed out there are at least seven other streets feeding into downtown Fergus which would be ideal for this purpose. In defence of all the others who’ve written or signed a petition protesting bike lanes on a provincial highway, I’m pretty sure none of them disagreed with bike lanes – they merely disputed where they should be located.
As for fossil fuel, I drive fewer than 1,000km a year – and while I agree that perhaps bicycles are a better alternative, there are many of us who (for various health reasons) cannot use a bicycle. Many seniors I know have problems that make cycling impossible. I purchased a big clock at a downtown store – bringing it home on a bicycle would have been out of the question.
I totally agree walking and cycling are wonderful alternatives to consuming fossil fuel – but not always an option for everyone. Those of us who can’t bicycle or walk distances do need parking spaces. And there aren’t enough of them now so removing more is merely going to hurt the downtown businesses.
Cyclists, please note: I am completely in favour of giving you bike lanes – I never said otherwise! I stand by what I did say – that it’s a ludicrous idea to put them on Highway 6/St. David Street.
Helen Marucci,
Fergus