Regarding Andy Manka’s recent guest column about bicyclists and Akron’s streets. Hey, Andy, this ain’t Europe. This fixation about bikes on Akron’s streets is a millennial thing—who else would be so concerned about something that affects such a tiny portion of the population?
He cites in his remarks that 13% of the people don’t drive cars. Well, for the rest of the 87% of us who DO drive, we think bicycle access is a completely harebrained concept. I’ve traveled Akron’s roads for over 60 years; the number of bicyclists I’ve seen barely outnumber the pages in one of the paper’s Sunday editions.
The idea of reducing traffic lanes to make room for bicycle lanes is, to me, one of the dumbest concepts I’ve seen a city’s traffic department propose. To actually go ahead and make those “improvements” is mind-boggling — it justifies the ridicule more advanced cosmopolitan areas throw our way.
Don’t get me wrong — I love Akron. It’s the perfect size for a city. The topography of our fair town is so much better than Canton’s, which is situated basically on a mesa. The city’s downtown in places reminds me of a mini San Francisco. Anyone watching episodes of Blue Green knows our area is also replete with many unusual and quaint shops and venues.
Then there is Summit County’s weather. I personally love it that we get four seasons. I’m not a snow bunny — I like witnessing the change of seasons.
The great thing about Akron is that it is one of the safest places to be in America. We don’t get hurricanes, floods, forest fires, blizzards, tsunamis, dust storms or any other population-killing events. Even our tornadoes are sporadic and rarely massively destructive.
It’s admiral that Mr. Manka cares so much about his fellow Akronites. My opinion is to channel that energy to make Akron more culturally significant. I believe Canton — which is a third the size of Akron — is far ahead of us on that.
My final word: Fewer bikes—more art.
Lachlan McIntosh, Akron
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fixation about bikes on Akron streets is a millennial thing | Letter
Reporting by Lachlan McIntosh, Letter to the Editor / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
