Howdy. I'm a friend of Eric_S, though he won't admit it since I'm old and don't ride my bike enough. I was reading the PI letters to the editor today and came across this. Wasn't sure if any of you saw it.

Cyclists get to ride on drivers' taxes
The time has come for bicyclists to pay for their ride -- no more free riding on the rest of us vehicle owners. Bicycles need to be licensed. Quite a few cities require bicycles to be licensed. Seattle actually used to license bicycles, and the time has come for bicycle licensing again.

Along with that there also needs to be bicycle rider education. Just as drivers are tested and licensed, so should bicycle riders be.

Given the high rate of cyclists who run red lights, fail to yield the right of way and (my favorite) make left turns out of the right hand lanes, and obstruct traffic, they need to have the education and testing.

The city needs to deal with this mess it has loosed onto the road. Having little fun symbols like "sharrows" and telling everyone to play nice out there is an unacceptable response on the city's part. The roads are not playgrounds; they are for functional transportation, and they have laws that apply to them.

Furthermore, installing one group so that it has privileges (like exemptions from use taxes, licensing, and traffic laws) over another is a bunch of baloney. Bikes and their operators are not superior to motor vehicle operators. There needs to be stepped up police enforcement, or a report-a-violator program (which if bikes had licenses would be possible).

Elizabeth Campbell
Seattle



That is all. Hope to get off my ass and ride with you sometime. JP