Replacing parking with bike lanes on Columbia Street will present a major inconvenience for all of its residents, especially families with small children and seniors.
How would you like to park your car two to three blocks from your house and carry groceries that distance? The sidewalks are hazardous, especially at night. Where will guests park? What about Amazon and FedEx deliveries? Home values will plummet and merchants will lose business.
If the city were truly worried about pedestrian safety, it would have installed crosswalks on Columbia years ago. Councilor Ty Stober’s remark, “Ultimately sacrifice is required. Very tangible losses for few in exchange for very dispersed gains for many” is way off (“In Our View: Keep on-street parking on Columbia Street,” The Columbian, May 16).
We are talking about 393 households, and over 800 people, hardly a few. The Hough, Carter Park, and Lincoln neighborhood associations oppose bike lanes. Two years ago a petition with 800 signatures against bike lanes was presented to the city. The mayor remarked that the residents of Columbia Street need to be “enlightened.” The mayor and the city council (with the exception of Bart Hansen) have chosen to ignore the wishes of the people.
This is not a democratic way to run a city. Whose neighborhood will be next?
