Unhappy with bike lane design

DEAR EDITOR:

From what we are led to believe, the lake-to-lake bike lane was built for two main reasons. The first, was the obvious one... safety. The second, seemed to center around such things as convenience, ease of riding and the benefits of exercise, not to mention the benefit to our climate.

Supposedly our tax dollars were being spent in a way that would benefit our community as a whole. If we believe this to be true, then P.T.Barnum was right when he said, “there’s a sucker born every minute.”

The bike lane has been completed down as far as Kinney Avenue.

There are curbs, metal rails, signs, etc. which, in theory, address the issue of safety.

However, in a car, if one were to turn west on Duncan at Main and go to the intersection of Fairview and Duncan, you would get a real eye-opener. This intersection is already a challenge for safety.

The two-way protected bike lane stops about a block short on Duncan before Fairview and merges into just one painted lane going which direction no one knows. The bike lane completely disappears closer to the Duncan-Fairview intersection.

The intersection of Duncan and Fairview is completely unmarked with no bike controls or direction of any kind in the intersection. Turning east on Duncan from Fairview there are no fully marked bike lanes for close to two blocks.

This is, in my opinion, a totally dangerous and unsafe situation with absolutely no markings or protection for potential bike riders who would have to ride with vehicular traffic.

It is ridiculous for a lake-to-lake bike lane to have no safety in the middle of the lake-to-lake bike lane on the north side and on the south side. Imagine a bike lane with an opening in the middle. This is good planning?

Who dreamed this one up?

The boondoggle goes on. The baloney pile gets bigger.

Ron Barillaro Penticton