Jim Souder’s Feb. 12 letter “Costs of adding lanes wastes taxes” doesn’t hold water. Souder isn’t happy because he sees bike lanes as unnecessary. I don’t agree. Good bicycle infrastructure — marked bike lanes and off-road bike paths — encourages more people to get on their bikes and is extremely important to any community’s quality of life, makes cycling safer, promotes good health and boosts the local economy. If Souder is opposed to bike lanes on streets and roads, where would he have us ride? Also, he should realize that taxing bikes would require an entirely new bureaucracy, which would also take his tax dollars.
I ride a bike, drive a car and pay my taxes. If Souder doesn’t bike, perhaps he should discover the wonderful experience that cycling offers, and meet some quality people who ride bikes. I enjoy Vancouver’s bike lanes and bike paths, and Souder might, too.
