About Dunwoody reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2013)
COMMENTARY Our/in, i, lion if to proride our reader t with fresh and engaging information about life in their communities. Published by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Phone: 404-917-2200 • Fax: 404-917-2201 Brookhaven Reporter I Buckhead Reporter Dunwoody Reporter I Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net Atlanta INtown www.AtlantaINtownPaper.com CONTACT US Founder & Publisher Steve Levene stevelevene@reporternewspapers.net Editorial Managing Editor Joe Earle joeearle@reporternewspapers.net Intown Editor: Collin Kelley Assoc. Editor/Digital Content Manager Dan Whisenhunt Staff Writer: Melissa Weinman Copy Editor: Diane L. 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Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing, LLC. 6 | SEPT.6-SEPT. 19,2013 0(C5v O: With the recent arrest of a gunman at a DeKalb elementary school and the discovery of a gun brought by a student to a Sandy Springs middle school, do you feel your children are safe when they are at school? Asked around the Reporter Newspapers communities “Yes, I feel my children are safe in both of their schools, Kingsley and Peachtree Middle. I believe that safety is because of the training, concern and awareness of the teachers who work in those two buildings, as well as the parents who are conscious of their surroundings and make the effort to inform the school of anything out of the ordinary.” Allegro. Joh/uon “I don’t think they’re safe in school any more. I think the foundation starts at home. Children are reacting to what they see at home and on TV, and bringing it to school. People are insensitive these days.” Tanya Blake “I do. I think they’ve taken all of the recommended safety precautions.” Laurie NiehoL “I do feel they’re safe. I think the events that have happened, they’re isolated. I really don’t worry for my kids’ safety at school.” Andy Loudon “Yes, because I trust their school adminis trators. I’ve al ways felt they paid close atten tion and they handle incidents responsibly.” Nicole Wright Vehicles can cross yellow line when passing cyclists To the editor: Recently, a letter titled, “City has declared a war on cars with planned bike lanes” [Dunwoody Reporter Aug. 25-Sept. 5] misinformed us all. I would like thank the writer for pointing out that Georgia law requires cars to provide three feet of distance when pass ing a cyclist; however, the writer misinformed us, implying you cannot cross the yellow line to pass. In fact, it is legal to cross the yellow line of a road to pass slow-moving vehicles (e.g. a cyclist, farm vehicle, or mail truck making rounds) and when passing stopped vehicles (including emergency vehicles, mail trucks, and construction vehicles), provided there’s no oncoming traffic. Frequently, if traffic is backing up behind a cyclist, it is be cause drivers are unaware that the law permits them to cross the yellow line to pass the cyclist. In addition, the writer said that “on-street bike lanes cost $50,000 per lane mile to construct, if curbs and storm sew er lines need to be moved.” It costs about 100 times this to build a mile of two-lane road, and that excludes the cost of the land! Furthermore, the writer misinformed us because most bike lanes can be added for cost of a can of paint, since all that is needed is striping the lanes. The writer implied that bike lanes tie up traffic. I have yet to see that in my 30 years of driving and biking. Furthermore, Dunwoody is not planning on adding bike lanes where the streets cannot support the bike lane and auto traffic. Living off of Mount Vernon (between Ashford Dunwoody and Abernathy), 100 percent of the traffic is caused by too many cars. It is so bad on Mount Vernon during rush hour that traffic usually crawls and it is impossible to make a left turn out of my development onto Mount Vernon. We are a two-car family, and my wife and I try to avoid Mount Vernon during these times. In my view, Dunwoody is becoming a more livable city that supports cars, bikes and walking. My family uses all three forms of travel to get to work, go to school, visit friends, run errands, and get some exercise. We do not want to feel | www.ReporterNewspapers.net LETTERS TO THE EDITOR E-mail letters to editor@reporternewspapers.net trapped in a city where the only option is to drive. One more thought: The writer should do what my wife and I do. Don’t drive around Dunwoody during rush hour, as that is when all the cars tie up the streets, making it difficult on ev eryone, or maybe get some exercise and leave the car at home. Thankfully, through the city’s continued investment in multi-modal forms of transportation, we all have the choice to drive, walk or bike. David Bolocan He’s grateful city is becoming more bike friendly To the editor: With regard to the article “City has declared a war on cars with planned bike lanes” by Norb Leahy [Dunwoody Report er, Aug. 23-Sept.5]. He makes the statement that “bikes are for recreation, not transportation.” Might I inquire, who is the arbiter of this? Is this the view of Norb Leahy, the individual, or Norb Lea hy, representing the Dunwoody Community Council? He then goes on to say that “sidewalks are useful for chil dren to walk or ride their bikes to school.” So he has now reversed course, and declared that for children, bikes are for transportation! I am a 57-year-old man who occasionally uses his bike for transportation (and wished I did it more) and often uses his bike for recreation (also wishing I did it more). I gather Mr. Leahy doesn’t want me on the road around Dunwoody. How ever, I am certainly grateful that Dunwoody is making strides to become more bike friendly and would like to see this trend continue. Harry ran Beunuigen DUN
