Following retirement 15 years ago, I created an exercise plan to keep me healthy until age 85 if possible.
First, I had cataracts removed in both eyes. Now I can read the newspaper without glasses!
Next I bought an exercise bike. My plan lets me exercise one half-hour daily with variations for weather. I bike for 15 minutes. In bad weather I bike for 30 minutes.
Now I’m 85 years old but can walk as easily as when only 70, so I’ll continue.
Roy Ekberg
Ottawa, Kan.
I had always expected gasoline prices to set new records, but I still was shocked to spend more than $4 a gallon. Then the Big Three automakers simultaneously needing a bailout certainly was a bigger surprise than that.
Paseo Bridge project director Brian Kidwell needs to take a close look at current events and stop thinking of cycling as recreational (11/18, FYI, “Cyclists push for right of passage; New Paseo Bridge over the river will not have a bike/pedestrian lane”). It’s beyond that for a lot of people, and a dedicated Paseo Bridge bike and pedestrian lane is a definite worthy cause. It’s certainly not too late in the planning to take care of this.
Out in here in the backwoods (Independence) better foresight has been shown. When the Bundschu Bridge was rebuilt a couple of years back, it received dedicated walkways going both ways. And this is in an area that is probably decades from development.
I think the record gas prices will be back sooner than later. The money for the bike lane can be found and would benefit more and more people for years to come.
Mark Breeding
Independence
I moved here recently from a place where people recycle and vehicles share the roadways with pedestrians and bike riders successfully. We can do a lot better at both of these “green” pursuits here in Kansas City.
Regarding recycling: People should simply follow the guidelines by collapsing their cardboard boxes and by putting in the bins only what is accepted.
Regarding safer roadways for pedestrians, bike riders and vehicles: If everyone simply followed the existing laws and paid attention to their surroundings, we would all be safer. More bike paths, sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks would be of great benefit, but only if people were to use them properly and vehicles were to respect them.
Lynne Grabar
Kansas City
Patrick H. Crowe (8/30, Letters) is certainly correct that bicyclists are required to follow traffic laws. However, the behavior he has observed at a stop sign, from his office window, is hardly unique to bike riders.
As I ascend or descend in the Hallmark elevators at 26th and McGee each weekday, I see behavior at a four-way stop just outside the glass wall of the elevator, and I can’t remember seeing a single car come to an actual stop at any of the four unless a pedestrian or a car was crossing in front of them. In fact, I’ve seen a number of drivers blow through the intersection without so much as slowing down — not even close to a so-called “rolling stop.” And this is during busy weekdays.
I doubt that many adult cyclists in Kansas City aren’t also car drivers, so the behavior Mr. Crowe is describing is really general traffic behavior. At least cyclists pose less risk to others on the road when they sail through a stop sign, especially if they have looked for oncoming traffic first (which cyclists usually have plenty of time to do, given how much more slowly they usually travel).
David N. Johnson
Gladstone
I’m amazed at the incredible ignorance of so many letter writers regarding bicycling. The bicycle is the world’s most perfect form of transportation: It’s fun, clean, healthy and incredibly inexpensive. It’s very efficient too, especially for the urbanite. For instance, in Kansas City, it’s only a half-hour ride from downtown to Waldo (when you’re in shape). The bicyclist gets much more exercise than those who sit and drive.
The city of Denver (my hometown), actually encourages people to bicycle. Maybe that’s partly why Denver has a reputation for being a fun city. That’s one of the reasons Coloradoans are the leanest people in the U.S. Kansans and Missourians are among the fattest.
Bicycling is patriotic. Unlike the motorist, the bicyclist isn’t pumping dollars into the economies of Iran, Russia and Venezuela.
Bicycling is good for your heart, pocketbook and the environment. Shed those excess pounds, and manage stress without drugs.
Let’s create safe bicycling routes for commuters in Kansas City.
David Hunt
Kansas City
Many letters have recently been published about the tragic deaths of two bicyclists (7/17, Local, “Driver acquitted in deaths of two”). My sympathies to their families and to the driver who hit them. In my opinion he was justly found to be not guilty of the crime with which he was charged.
I believe bicycle riders are required to follow all traffic regulations, just as motorists are.
In more than 50 years of driving, I have never seen a bicycle rider pulled over by the police. .
I know of no group that more consistently violates traffic regulations than bicyclists. Less than 50 feet from my office window, there is a stop sign. The only time any bicycle rider stops is when not doing so would get him or her hit by a car.
I believe bicyclists are required to ride in single file. The only time I see this is when the biker is alone. In fact, on a weekly basis, a large group of bicyclists (more than 25) passes my window. They are typically three, four or five across.
I hope these folks begin to police themselves and obey the laws before more deaths happen.
Patrick H. Crowe
Kansas City
My grandfather resisted using the indoor toilet. He was from a poor immigrant family and grew up on the farm. My mother told me about her grandmother, who had refused to ride in an automobile, She called them the “devil’s chariot.” New customs, new languages and new technology and different social practices sometimes cause fear to those who resist them.
To those who see riding bicycles on the public street a “dangerous practice” that requires a “solution,” I would suggest that they realize that bicycles on public streets are a practice that is only going to increase. One only has to look around and see that there are more and more of us every day.
Sidewalks are side-“walks”, hence, made for walking.
Statistics show that bicycle sales are higher than ever. Change often seems “dangerous” if we are not used to it.
Richard L. Wagner
Kansas City
I am alarmed by the letters that suggest requiring bicycle riders to ride against the traffic or on sidewalks. The technical barriers to either of those suggestions are insurmountable, and the practice would be dangerous.
When I ride, it is not unusual to reach speeds of 25 mph, even on flat pavement. If the speed limit on the street were 35 mph, then the closing speed of the car and my bike would be 60 mph. That is dangerous.
On the other hand, I don’t understand the bicycle commuters who ride on busy streets during rush hour. That experience is as bad for the rider as it is for the motorist.
The solution for Kansas City and its neighbors is to create dedicated, wide bike lanes for viable bike transport during rush hour in and out of business centers. Right now the choices for bike travel to and from downtown and other business centers are very limited. Some riders, who want a fast commute home, risk riding on busy streets.
Let’s work to provide viable alternatives for bicycle commuters and refrain from suggesting dangerous biking practices.
Thomas M. Deacy
Kansas City
Cindy Oetting (8/10, Letters)http://www.kansascity.com/309/story/741078.html suggests that cyclists ride on the sidewalk, and, if a bicycle hits a pedestrian, not much harm would be done. Well, recently I was that pedestrian and almost got hit by three cyclists who believe they have the run of the sidewalk.
I walk a lovely trail by my house, which is for bicycles also. About one in 10 cyclists will yell “on your left” when passing. Most don’t bother, nor do they get over to the left. I always walk on the right side of the trail, but it seems some riders want to be there also.
I don’t know if the cyclists are taking out their frustrations from autos on pedestrians or what, but the majority of them are extremely rude and inconsiderate of walkers. I also see many riding side by side instead of single file. Many do not wear helmets (that’s their problem). I have even seen a few talking on their cell phones.
This path is not Ward Parkway, with wonderful wide lanes, but there is room for walkers and cyclists if the latter would obey the rules.
Marlene Shulkin
Overland Park
As one who has bicycled the streets of Kansas City for more than 25 years, I've had my share of experiences with irate and idiotic motorists. And nice ones, too.
I realize that, were I to have a run-in with a car or truck, I would come out on the losing end. Yet, riding our streets and highways doesn't scare me. If it's my time to go, so be it. One cannot live life in fear.
Having said that, I trust that motorists will be aware of my presence on the road and take appropriate safety measures, such as slowing a bit and moving to the left when possible. In turn, I stay as far to the right as is practical and safe, maintain a straight line of travel, signal my intentions and obey all traffic signs and signals.
Scofflaws give all cyclists a bad reputation and cause much ill will with motorists.
I urge everyone on the roads to pay attention and follow the laws. Stay off the cell phone. Sit up straight, both hands on the wheel, and be alert.
You can avoid senseless tragedy by using your eyes, ears and brains.
Timothy Earl Osburn
Parkville
Glenn Robinson (8/4, Letters) suggests that bikers would be safer if they rode facing the traffic. In my opinion that would create a very unsafe situation for motorists.
A bicycle going with the flow of traffic gives overtaking vehicles the opportunity to adjust their speed to accommodate the slower vehicle and oncoming traffic, to make a safe pass. Not so with an oncoming vehicle in the opposing lane. A motorist with a moving vehicle coming at him has precious few seconds to evaluate the oncoming obstruction in his lane of travel, the closing speed of the two vehicles, the traffic behind him and the oncoming traffic in the proper lane before deciding how to respond.
A little imagination can concoct many serious scenarios, all of which are avoided by traveling in the same direction as the traffic.
Walkers and runners facing traffic have much more flexibility to avoid vehicles — stop, get off the road — whereas bicycles don’t.
While the biking community appreciates safety concerns, I, for one, am not in favor of riding against traffic.
Bob Burns
Blue Springs
I agree with Glenn Robinson that bicycle traffic should face oncoming traffic. A friend of mine disagrees, asserting that he has a rearview mirror on his helmet that provides the safety he needs. But how many people have mirrors or even helmets?
Besides, you have a much better overall view in front of you versus what you can see in that dinky little mirror.
Stephen A. Sasenick
Overland Park
There is an obvious solution to the dangerous custom of bicycle riding on streets and highways. Bicycle riding should be done on sidewalks. If a car hits a bicyclist, death or serious injury results. If a bicyclist hits a pedestrian, a few scrapes and bruises are the most likely result. Since pedestrian traffic on sidewalks is much less than car traffic on streets, the risk is even less.
The bicyclist could use a horn or bell to tell the pedestrian to move to the right. If it is hard to see motorcyclists, how much harder is it to see a bicyclist? It seems like common sense to get the bicyclist off the roads.
In addition, bicycle riding should be illegal on any roadway where the speed limit is higher than 50 mph unless a bicycle path is designated in the shoulder area.
Cindy Oetting
Overland Park
