Safety should come before seconds
As we await the City’s design alternatives to better accommodate bicycle traffic on Iris Avenue (to be unveiled April 27th at Columbine Elementary, 10 a.m. to noon), let’s correct a factual error from a recent letter to the editor.
It needs to be clear to all that both the “right-sizing” of Folsom in 2015 and one of the proposed plans for Iris do not represent a change “from a 4-lane street to a 2-lane street,” as the letter claims.
Rather, the Folsom change and one of many Iris alternatives is a 3-lane street with a center turn lane. This allows enough space for a protected lane for cyclists while minimally impacting drive times.
In fact, the uproar over the Folsom improvements was based on drive times through that corridor that were mostly increased by seconds, not minutes. If there was a “mistake” as the letter claims, it was in pulling the plug too quickly.
We cyclists believe that if the Folsom experiment had been allowed to “settle in,” drivers would adjust their routes for their convenience and drive times would have decreased to the “hardly noticeable” point.
However, this being Boulder, the resulting uproar was loud and frequent, as the author points out. Enough to get the City to relent and back-track.
These decisions all come down to balancing the safety of cyclists with the convenience of drivers. And while there are more drivers than riders, and Boulder does a better balancing act than most small cities, it seems to us on two wheels that safety should come before seconds.
Ray Keener, Boulder
You can become part of the solution, not part of the problem
Enough is enough. A recent letter criticizing the MAGA support of Donald Trump is another example of uninformed and emotional opinion unsupported by logic or facts. Why do I support Trump? During his administration, we had more secure borders, negligible inflation, international respect, no major international conflicts, respect for our military and first responders, a positive view of the future, and a number of other conditions that gave hope to millions. What about today? Exactly the opposite. It’s time for the anti-Trumpers to take a drive to the nearest military cemetery, walk alone among the graves, and with honest introspection develop a respect and understanding of the price paid by others for this nation. Get informed, recognize what others sacrificed for your freedoms, and start thinking about how you can become part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Richard Socash, Boulder
Middle East disaster could become a global nuclear war
A full-scale war between Iran and Israel would make our world much more dangerous than it already is. There is a good chance the United States would become a direct participant. If Israel starts losing it might use nuclear weapons.
What most Americans do not realize is the long history of provocations that led to the recent Iranian attack on Israel. According to a New York Times article from earlier this month:
“For years Iran took blow after blow from Israel both at home and in the region: assassinations of its nuclear scientists and military commanders, explosions at its nuclear and military bases, cyber hacks, intelligence infiltrations and an embarrassing theft of nuclear documents.
“But since the Hamas-led assault of Oct. 7 prompted Israel to go to war in Gaza, Israel has intensified its attacks on Iranian interests and commanders in Syria. In a series of strikes starting in December, Israel has assassinated at least 18 Iranian commanders and military personnel from the Quds Force, the elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that operates outside Iran’s borders.”
The present parlous situation in the entire Middle East indicates the extent to which the establishment of a Zionist state in Palestine has destabilized the entire region. It will continue to do so until Israel becomes a truly democratic state for all Palestinians (including those in exile) and Israelis. The persistent Middle East disaster could even become a global nuclear war. Ugh!
Tom Mayer, Boulder
