Raves, Rants & Roses

RESPONSE: It took me a couple of “drive-bys” to realize what was unusual about the new sidewalks near Robert E. Lee High School. The city has exposed us to a huge liability. What happens when a child on a bicycle or a senior in a power chair accidentally drives off the curb and directly into the heaviest traffic in East Texas?

You got it: lawsuit.

That sidewalk, which has no grass buffer, is a disaster waiting to happen. It’s not a matter of if but when.

If the sidewalks are not going to have grass buffers between them and the highway, wouldn’t it be preferable to construct them as bike paths? At least that way, users won’t crash into heavy traffic when they meander over the “line.”

Bob Brewer
Yacolt, Wash.