Bicycles impede the flow of traffic on many roads
Re: “Roads are meant to carry more than cars,” June 13 letter to the editor.
Letter-writer Art Paolini declares the notion that “roads were designed and built for cars” a fiction. He proceeds to cite the ancient Roman road-builders.
Our current urban thoroughfares and narrow mountain roads are nothing like the roads the ancient Romans built. They carry incalculably greater numbers of vehicles traveling at much higher speeds. It’s apples to oranges! Our modern roads are built for cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles — vehicles that can maintain speeds near posted limits. Bicycles impede the flow of traffic and introduce significant risks for both bicyclists and motorists.
Paolini goes on to note that adequate paths do not exist for bicycle commuters, which I’ll concede. But this is not sufficient justification for mixing wildly incompatible traffic flows on our roads. The solution is to build bike paths for commuters. Until they’re in place, bicycles should be segregated from auto traffic.
Mark Vanderbrook, Morrison
This letter was published in the June 15 edition.