To the editor:

It is important to note some things that have not been said about the 21st Street bike boulevard. The Centennial Neighborhood Association was never consulted about the project until recently. It should have been, in the beginning. There is a survey online, but no way to provide comments about the general design, only about a particular traffic-blocking device.

The boulevard runs across an area with little bike traffic. If it doubles, we might see a dozen cycles an hour. It will cause many motorists who live in the area or who go to Lawrence High School to divert around — burning a lot more gasoline and canceling out any benefit from the increase in cycles. It will add a mile to my trip to my local supermarket. That diversion, along with others caused by the design, will cause me to burn at least 10 gallons a year more gasoline. Is that environmentally friendly?

Pedestrians are ignored, but we long ago should have constructed the traffic light crosswalk on 19th Street, where large numbers of KU students take their lives in their hands trying to get across after parking south of 19th. It would be near Missouri, where most actually cross — not a spot picked out on a map. But pedestrians don’t have an organized lobby.

Could we ask for bicycle licenses, traffic enforcement (stop signs, anyone?), laws about not riding around at night with dark clothing and no lights? No. Not trendy enough.

Adrian Melott,

Lawrence