Sullivan's Bikes

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

As an habitual bicycle rider in Cambridge for something over five years, Councillor Sullivan's remarks on the bicycle traffic problem in Harvard Square interest me quite a bit. Unfortunately, the bicyclists who ride an the wrong side of the street are only one factor among many that contribute to the traffic hazard in the Square. Much of the blame and many of the near-misses can be blamed on the behavior of the cyclists themselves....

There are hazards to the cyclists which exist as a result of inconsistent traffic and parking regulation enforcement as well: Double-parking, which is rampant, forces the cyclist to swerve out into the street into the traffic. This is particularly bad on Massachusetts Avenue near Plympton Street and further out towards Porter Square in the neighborhood of Sacremento Street. The "twenty feet from the island" regulation is not enforced and this again causes a severe and hazardous bottleneck. Finally, the idiot who opens his car door into traffic is a menace both to himself and to others.

If the City is seriously interested in making some sense of traffic, particularly bicycle traffic, it seems to me that they might enforce a few of the regulations currently on the books. Nicholas B. Dean '57