110833841
To the Editor:
In response to the upbeat articles about bicycles in the Inquirer and elsewhere, I see many negatives and the problem will grow as the number of bikes appearing on our streets.
I believe the city is making a big mistake in not setting down any ground rules. One thing that would make monitoring cyclists easier would be to have them registered and require a tag number on the bicycle. There does not have be a fee, only a fine if no plate is on the bike.
The vast majority of cyclists pay absolutely no attention to any rules of the road. I am talking 95 percent.
1. They do not stop for stop signs or traffic lights.
2. They ride on the sidewalk.
3. They pass stopped buses on the right — very dangerous when getting off a bus. Trolleys have signs and lights telling cars not to do that. Maybe buses should be equipped with them, especially in instances where people are getting off and no one is getting on. I doubt that cyclists would pay any more attention to that than they do to anything else.
4. They ride their bikes in areas where it is posted “walk bike only.” An example is the overpass on the River Walk adjacent to the dog run where it is clearly marked at both ends.
5. Cyclists change sides of the street to ride on without looking. On one-way streets with parking on both sides, this makes driving a car a nightmare.
6. At night, no lights front or back and dark clothing.
Sooner or later, there are going to be serious accidents involving motorized vehicles and pedestrians young and old as well as the cyclists. The University of Pennsylvania must have some strict rules in place because the number of cyclists following rules is much higher on campus than in other parts of the city.
Just think, if rules were set up and enforced, the money coming from fines may help to make our public schools come closer to what they should be. Maybe even a nurse in every school every day or maybe a library in every school.
Kenneth Veith
South Philadelphia
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