Letter: Streets no place for bicyclists

Bicycle riders, we see them every day. They don't signal turns and they run stop lights and signs. They ride the wrong way on streets and they ride on sidewalks. Basically, they ride where they want, when they want. Get ‘em off the streets.

Here's what I saw in the last few weeks: A group of cyclists rode on a downtown sidewalk to a bar. Another group, in all their garb, rode through stop signs without hesitation. A guy on Edgewood Road, by Robbins Lake, at 5:30 p.m. A woman pulling her child in a flimsy carrier on First Avenue. C'mon!

Bikes should be licensed with a hefty fee. The fee could be used to build and maintain trails. Stop using our tax dollars to paint lines/markers, for bike signs and to paint the streets green. And, stop requiring us to park our cars in the middle of downtown streets. This is Cedar Rapids not Amsterdam. Get ‘em off the streets.

Two exceptions: RAGBRAI and those little guys who wear football helmets, pedal real fast, but go real slow. The deserve our respect and protection.

Bob Burnes

Cedar Rapids