To the editor:

The Journal-World doesn’t especially like bicycles, judging from its May 19 editorial against the proposed funding for bike paths. It’s even less fond of the proposed sidewalk funding, barely mentioned in the editorial.

Those attitudes are common among people who don’t walk or jog or bicycle much. Lawrence has good streets that can get you any place in town by car with admirable speed, comfort, convenience and safety. We have an adequate bus system that can get you to some (not all) places, but you have to walk to and from the buses. If you have a significant disability you can get most places on the T, safely but with considerable inconvenience.

What you cannot do in Lawrence is get very far by foot, bicycle or wheelchair without seriously compromising safety and comfort.

That outcome is dictated by the city budget. It dedicates some $12 million a year for roads, parking and transit, but not one cent specifically for sidewalks or bikes.

The Journal-World says that’s OK because:

l Spending more money won’t affect attitudes or bike usage,

l “we” have other spending priorities

l the timing is bad.

No other reasons were given.

This situation may be acceptable to some 60,000 Lawrencians who have cars. However it seriously degrades quality of life for most of the 30,000 Lawrencians who don’t. Those people are disproportionately children, old people, poor people, students, handicapped people — and the retirees our economic developers want to attract to Lawrence.

But Journal-World editors have other priorities. I’m guessing they mostly drive to work.