To the Editor:
I was walking down Canyon Street yesterday towards the bank, and saw two boys riding quickly toward me on the sidewalk on their bicycles. One boy was yelling at me to move because he was going too fast to stop.
I told them to not ride down the sidewalk as it is so very unsafe, but they replied that their parents told them they were not allowed to ride on the road. They went around the corner and into the running shoe store, so I continued up the road to Town Hall and got the bylaw officer to come with me to see if we could find the boys. Unfortunately, they had already left the store.
The bylaw officer told me that bicycles are not to be ridden, only walked, on the sidewalk. I see this a lot because I work downtown, and now that school is out, I am afraid of someone getting injured. I am hoping that the parents of these children realize if they do not have liability insurance, they can be personally sued for injuries caused by their children.
The good news is that the boys were wearing helmets, so I think the parents actually care about those boys. Now if we could just get them to explain to the kids about what could happen if someone opens a door and steps onto the sidewalk, or has a walker or a cane and can't move quickly, and gets clobbered by a child on a bicycle. Pedestrians generally don't wear helmets, so I think the cyclist would have a better chance of surviving that run-in.
Jacky Smith
Creston