Better idea than bike lane

As an avid bike rider and bike commuter for over 35 years you’d guess that I’d be in favor of a bike lane on Lake Avenue, but you’d be mistaken.

Most of my biking was done before texting and during morning and afternoon commutes when the drunk drivers had made it home or were sitting in jail, and when the driving population was younger.

Nowadays, the roads have become more dan- gerous and the majority of my biking is on multiuse paths. Hazards still exist but they’re not 20 times my weight.

Take a ride to Clifton Park, specifically Moe Road, Route 146A, or Vischer Ferry Road. There are no sidewalks but there are 10 foot wide multi-use trails along each of these roads where anyone can walk, bike, inline skate, or run to their hearts content without fear of being run over by an inattentive driver.

If the city of Saratoga Springs wants to promote bicycling, wouldn’t it be smart to make it as safe as possible?

I think the Lake Avenue bike lane idea is well intentioned, but it is not the best idea. Let the cars have Lake Avenue. Give us pedestrians, bikers, inline skaters, runners, and yes, skateboarders a 10-foot-wide ribbon of asphalt down one side of Lake Avenue. Put some benches along side of it here and there. It could become a destination!

Mac Bryant

Saratoga Springs