Dear editor,
Here’s to the organizers of the proposed Fitzgerald bike lanes meeting that was supposedly for the residents on Fitzgerald.
So why were around 50 per cent of attendees from out of town or East Courtenay? I found the input from the three City employees attending to be totally biased in favour of the cyclists, with a cram-it-down-their-throats attitude for the residents.
Among things not addressed were the needs of the handicapped, elderly, businesses, residents and workers in the Fitzgerald area.
They seem to be willing to waste thousands of dollars on studies but can’t get the funding for the sidewalk on the west side of Fitzgerald that has been promised for over 10 years. I sometimes wonder if these people were hired for their expertise in hiring consultants.
The issue of cycle safety is really a non-issue (ICBC reports only two cycle-related accidents from 2005 through 2010) and as a cyclist myself who has ridden Fitzgerald many times, I feel that anyone who cannot navigate Fitzgerald without two white lines to guide them should consider the Riverway or other forms of transportation.
What about supporting the E&N-Rotary cycle pathway? Would that not be a no-brainer, no-consultant solution to our cycling problems?
As a resident for 20 years, I would hate to see our beautiful little town turn into a Vancouver North with ugly lines, cement barriers vertical sewer pipe roundabouts and signs everywhere!
This is just the start of a plan to appease a few at the expense of many.
Bob Samograd,
Courtenay