Bike lanes are being added to streets all over, but the worst example I have seen has taken place in Shoreline on Fifth Avenue NW, north and south of 165th NE. A horrible step backward.
Because of new bike lanes, the yellow line that used to be a centerline, now veers toward one curb and then the other, making drivers zigzag in a narrow lane, barely wide enough for a bus.
Many hones along Fifth were built after World War II, with seniors and others unable to even ride a bike, yet bike lanes are added along the curb, making it illegal for these long-time homeowners to park in front of their own homes. So unfair for those who lived in, supported and contributed to their communities for so many years, while their costs to live here, utilities and taxes have soared. Sadly, they now see that the few bikers that use Fifth, who don’t even pay license fees, have more legal right to the street than the homeowner and taxpayer.
All for bike lanes that are not even needed, since Fifth Avenue was widened in the 1960s that made it safe for cars and bikes to share, and still have room to safely go around a stopped bus or garbage truck, which will be impossible now.
Knowing that there will be even fewer bikes during winter, it would be great to see all of those unneeded, unwise and probably unsafe white lines removed and give taxpayers back their streets and their rights
Maurice E. Kline
Shoreline
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
