Motorist appreciates those who ride bicycles

Posted: Wednesday, November 24, 1999

   I suspect Mr. Geeter (Nov. 17 letter) has often stood next to bicyclists at the tag office just as he has often stood next to joggers. Like most of us, bicyclists own cars and pay auto insurance. They also hold jobs and pay property taxes as well as sales and gasoline taxes. They share the cost of the road.

   It doesn't make sense to begrudge them bike lanes any more than it makes sense to wish walkers and joggers off the sidewalks. Athens taxpayers have paid lots of money for sidewalks and I think it is money very well spent.

   People bike for various reasons. Some want to stay fit, others discover they can park a bike more easily at work than they can a car. Bikers come from many different backgrounds and lifestyles just as the rest of us do.

   As for breaking the law, a week doesn't pass that I don't encounter a driver who goes through a yellow or red light in Athens. Bicyclists tend to obey the law simply because they risk their lives if they don't. When I enter an intersection, I don't go in fear of being struck by a bicyclist.

   I am not a cyclist. I'm one of the majority who uses a car for transportation. As I wait at red lights in Athens' increasingly clogged traffic, I'm grateful for every person on a bike, walking on a sidewalk, or taking the bus. Every car less means my wait at the light may be just a little shorter.

   I don't think I've come to the point that I'm ready to hand out hard-earned tax money to those who choose alternative forms of transportation, but at the rate things are going this may one day seem a brilliant idea.

   Karin Haag



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