Skip to main contentLEFT BEHIND
As a person who has never voted for a Republican, who believes in inclusion, and whose politics have always been "left of center," I have a message for the peace activists: WAKE UP, YOU NINNIES! [See also "An Open Letter to the Peace Movement," WW, Sept. 26, 2001.] They're killing your countrymen within the continental United States! Metaphorically, your neighbor's dog has just killed your child--we're way beyond obedience training here. How the Left handles this is going to decide whether it is going to be a viable entity in the future. Remember, it was the backlash against the so-called "hippie movement" that gave us Reagan with his enormous popularity. If the reaction by the Left continues to seem so far-fetched, unrealistic, and naive as it does to me now, you risk losing us. And you need us.
James Berry
Northeast Portland
VIRGIN WANTED; EXPERIENCE REQUIRED.
I am so indebted to Kristian Williams [Letters, WW, Sept. 26, 2001, accusing Blackmer and his Office of Independent Police Review of pro-cop leanings] for educating me on the bias I unknowingly acquired when I worked for Tom Potter in the Crime Prevention Unit of the Police Bureau in 1978, and then the Planning and Research Unit of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office the following six years. I guess the last 16 years of my life when I've had serious disagreements with police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, a parole and probation director, and judges were all just a sham.
I hope he will also start fighting to bar Michael Jordan from competing against the Chicago Bulls, preventing defense attorneys from ever being elected judges, and arguing that Wayne Morse wasn't a maverick but a double-agent.
Mr. Williams sees bias and taint in everyone's past. I think he has a bias against anyone who knows the criminal-justice system. I want to hire professionals who can actually have a constructive impact on the Police Bureau. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever find enough experienced virgins to meet Mr. Williams' expectations.
Gary Blackmer
Auditor, City of Portland
THIS LANE IS MY LANE
I read with great interest your "Crossroads of Shame" story [Aug. 15, 2001]. I commute from Vancouver to downtown Portland four out of five days a week on my bicycle. I cross over the I-205 bridge, and Sandy Boulevard, unfortunately, is the most distance-efficient route for me to travel.
In the mornings, I start the Sandy portion of my ride by 5:10 am. The streets are fairly empty at that hour, and in fact, I can hear a vehicle long before I actually see it. Countless times I have crossed the intersection where Nancy Wernert was killed. Even at that hour, one has to be extremely careful. Drivers love to run the red light from Northeast 37th Avenue onto Sandy. Even when I approach that intersection with the light in my favor, I slow to a near stop to get a good visual on Northeast 37th.
The real challenge for my ride happens in the afternoon. I first would like to say that the majority of auto and truck drivers are very considerate with respect to my safety. I cannot count the number of times that people have waited for me to pass before they turn, pull out of a driveway or cross an intersection. There is, however, what I call the one-in-a-hundred driver. S/he is the person who doesn't know that bicycles are actually surface street vehicles.
I have experienced drivers who have intentionally swerved into my path in an attempt to drive me into the curb. Others, in a great hurry to get to the next red light, cuss and tell me to get on the sidewalk where I belong. Fortunately this type of driver is rare--so rare, in fact, that I actually can count them.
I have often thought that a bike lane on Sandy would resolve many safety issues. I believe that drivers, in general, respect those lanes. While there are arguments against installing these lanes--"To install a bike lane on Sandy, the city would either have to wipe out street parking (angering merchants) or else reduce...traffic lanes (angering motorists)"--there is not a valid argument against informing the driving public that the curbside lanes on Sandy are shared with bicycles. Could be as simple as hanging those ugly green signs that warn motorists about schools and crosswalks--except that these signs would inform drivers to share the road with bicycles.
Daniel E Krull
Vancouver, Wash.
TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME
I do not understand why bicyclists choose to travel through intersections known to be dangerous, and why they compound the danger by taking unnecessary risks ["Crossroads of Shame," WW, Aug. 15, 2001].
The loss of a life, especially a young, healthy life such as Nancy Wernert's, is always tragic. Yet the witnesses testified that Ms. Wernert "sailed" through the intersection. Either she did not see the double-semi (how could you not?), or, as some witnesses said, she saw it and raced it to the intersection...and lost.
The column states that the intersection is a "nightmare" and that three other serious bicycle crashes have occurred there since 1987. Three different people are quoted describing how bad the intersection is. No one was quoted as saying "I never use that route; it's too dangerous." Why is that?
When I commuted by bicycle from North Portland to downtown, I kept myself constantly alert to dangers. I especially was sensitive to whether or not other drivers could see me, and I watched closely to predict where people were going in case they did not see me. I considered it my responsibility, not theirs, to make sure I was not in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No route shared by autos and bicycles can be made entirely safe for the bicyclist, even with specially marked lanes, blue or otherwise. The discrepancy in mass between cars (let alone double semi-trucks) and bicycles is too great, and the visibility from inside a car or truck is too poor. Sometimes the only safe thing to do is avoid the bad streets and intersections altogether.
Jonathan Kahnoski
North Concord Avenue
WWeek 2015