Letter: Please Share the Road Carefully

By Susan Fisher

In this day of sheltering in place, there is a preponderance of people on the roads.

It is particularly hazardous in the Back Country where the roads are narrow, albeit wider roads closer to downtown, but still no sidewalks..

Today downtown and back I successfully passed about 35 people walking and bicycling.

While some folks make fun of the outfits on the cyclists, at least they stand out and can be seen.

Also most bicycles have lights or flashers even on the helmets and reflectors on the heels of shoes.

On the other hand, many walkers and joggers are new to the roads since the pandemic began and totally non-professional about their dress.

Woe to the woman on her cell phone dressed in beige or brown walking a small dog, distractedly.

Woe also to the walker in front of a stone wall with grass behind wearing gray pants and a green top. Totally invisible!

And then there is the man of a certain age in gray and none too steady at that, and the runner in back and gray with headphones, oblivious.

It makes driving downtown quite an adventure, dodging this and that, sometimes at the last minute, with a car coming at you already in the middle of the road. 

That’s not even mentioning the happy couple hand in hand, never mind the dress, with an active dog slewing around, or the lady again in black on her child’s bike, not much experience there, or the two ladies in gray and black chatting and not even heading for the side when a car approached.

Out of 35 individuals I saw in my morning trip down and back, only one had a brightly colored shirt and only some of the bicyclists were in anything resembling clothing appropriate to their activity.

All I can say is “Yipes” and make sure I am not in a hurry behind the wheel.

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