Rethink strategy

Dear Editor:This letter is in response to the letter that Richard Spencer sent to The Downey Patriot on April 7, 2011, regarding bike lanes throughout the city of Downey. ("Bikers Ignored," Letters to the Editor). I am not a bicyclist on a regular basis but I do respect the rights and wishes of casual bicyclists or those who do choose bicycles as their primary mode of transportation. What I don't agree with is Mr. Spencer's ridiculous assertion that bicyclists have somehow suffered the same unjust and unfair discrimination and rights violations that other groups of our society have had to endure in our history. To compare the plight of a bicyclist who may have to go without their own designated bike lane to that of a particular group of people who have suffered significant injustices based on their race, gender or sexual orientation is nothing short of ignorant and arrogant. While I agree that the traffic volume in Downey, as in many other cities in the southeast area, is such that many bicyclists are at risk when they travel the major arteries, I have not seen the increased amount of bicycle traffic in the city that would justify the additional expense or space needed to construct bike lanes on every major road as Mr. Spencer wishes. It is the opinion of Mr. Spencer that bicyclists are currently ignored, considered a nuisance by the public and picked on by ill-informed officers. I don't agree with this assessment, however, if part of his plan to combat these so-called atrocities is holding protests and bike rides that will clog roadways and highways in the city rather than inform and educate the public and the policy makers, he will do more harm than good to the legitimate concerns of bicycle enthusiasts. -- Randy Davis, Downey

********** Published: April 14, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 52