[MissoulaGov] Committee Update 9-30-09 Bikes on Sidewalks

[David V. Gray]

David,

 

Thank you for the update on the bike topic.  My children are out of training
wheels but I still would not want to see them only allowed on the street.
At age 10 and younger they still make a great deal of poor decisions. When
it comes to a game of tag between a car and a bike the car will always win.
I would like to see the city council allow bikes all the right of
pedestrians when they are on sidewalks as the state law dictates and devote
educational dollars providing courtesy training to bike riders on sidewalks
and traffic law training for streets riders.

 

On the other topic I have seen the amount of time the Council members spend
on issues and I am grateful for the work that they do and the business that
gets accomplished.  My concern is that it appears that a great deal of time
and energy lately has been put into cell phone ordinances, banning homeless
from the downtown, discussing the appropriate locations for bike traffic and
creating more rules for the citizens of Missoula to live by.  It does not
appear that making Missoula "The desired place for new and expanding
business" or creating a means that will make Missoula the leader in the
economic recovery for our state is being discussed or allocated much time by
the City Staff and Council.  It would be refreshing to see the full power
and time of the city staff and Council on this issue so it was making the
news each week.  From my perspective these topics have been a black hole of
effort by our government and body of leaders.  This may be an incorrect view
but it has not been getting much press coverage if it is occurring. As the
Chair of the Public Safety and Health I am sure you have a great deal of
influence on what could benefit Missoula's citizens Health Care expenditures
and still make sure our Medical industry is vibrant and growing.  That would
be a nice change in priority focus at this time or an issue worth allocating
more time to. Maybe issues that are not life threatening, not taxable and do
not create increases or stabilize the citizens' revenue generation could
take a back seat for a while.

 

Sincerely,

David V. Gray

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