It’s time for honest, unbiased reporting and discussion on the problem of bicyclists, both the commuters and the recreationist that have invaded the streets of our communities. In the past, the media has been excessively biased in their reporting and not responding the communities as a whole.

For Snohomish County and many of the cities that claim our communities to be bike friendly; the truth is that we are not. Many our roads lack the infrastructure to support both vehicles and cyclists without disrupting the flow.

In and around the city of Snohomish, during the fair weather, the cyclists “invade” from all over, overrunning our roads, filling our parking lot so customers cannot park. The majority of the roads leading into and around town have no provisions for bicyclists, they are narrow with no shoulder, and the fog line is on the edge of the pavement. Many of these roads have deep culverts right on the edge of the roadway. These are small farm roads; roads of commerce. Now we are not talking a few bicyclists here, but packs of them (small to very large groups), two or more groups per mile.

Personally, I believe that commuter and recreational bicyclists that use the roadways and arterials should be licensed and have to display a license plate for identification purposes. Bicycles should be banned from certain roads for the safety of all. Licensing would not be required for neighborhood and trail riding cyclists.

Paul Hays

Lake Stevens