Thank you for publishing Alice Dreger’s recent letter regarding bicycle-motorist issues, E.L. bikers deserve more respect from city, motorists (SN 9/9).
I sympathize with Dreger’s position regarding where to bicycle in East Lansing. It has been my decision to ride on the road whenever I can, out of concern for my own safety. Inevitably, whenever I try to bike on the sidewalk, I encounter a “close call” with a car at intersections. Motorists never stop before a crosswalk and often fail to look both ways before pulling out into an intersection. I simply do not feel it is safe, for myself or pedestrians, to have bikes on the sidewalk.
Last year, while walking on the sidewalk down Farm Lane, I was hit by a cyclist who just “assumed” I would move out of the way. This is certainly an issue that deserves more attention by the East Lansing City Council.
I applaud MSU’s push to increase the number of bike lanes on the road on campus, an indication to me that there is a shift among campus administrators to have bikes on the road. I would love to see East Lansing adopt a similar plan and place priority on bike safety. This issue will become more pronounced with increasing gas prices and it would be foolish to ignore it at this point.
One final note though — I do understand the frustration of motorists when bicyclists refuse to follow the rules of the road. Therefore, I would suggest that if cyclists wish to earn the respect of the East Lansing City Council and others, please obey all traffic laws when biking on the road. Respect goes both ways.
Shaun Langley
geography graduate student
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