I recently read Susan Tellem’s letter to the editor. I’m outraged that Tellem sits on our Public Safety Committee and is not only unaware of our state laws regarding cyclists, but she begins her letter using her official position. She advocates that cyclists should be ticketed for riding three abreast and not stopping at stop signs. Nowhere in our state laws does it require that cyclists ride single file on the shoulder of the road. How many of us walking our dogs or riding our bikes down to the beach haven’t cruised through an empty intersection?
While I may not like cyclists riding three abreast where PCH has narrow shoulders, I’ve found it simple enough to slow down and allow them safe passage. If a cyclist is aggressively taking the road or passing through a stop sign or red light, I don’t have a problem with using my horn to warn that my two two-ton vehicle is approaching. The ticketing that Tellem would have law enforcement write for road cyclists is a waste of time and resources. I would rather see our law enforcement ticketing dangerous drivers on PCH than handing out tickets to cyclists.
Tellem clearly rides on the side of only one constituency, motorists. She failed in a public forum of her choosing to equitably represent the rest of the Malibuites who do cycle. Tellem used her official position to promulgate a shortsighted strategy that would waste our city budget and resources for law enforcement. I demand that she be removed immediately from the Public Safety Commission. It is unconscionable that a person with her decidedly misguided, one-sided views is on the Public Safety Commission and making important decisions for the citizens of Malibu.
I rarely road-ride nowadays precisely because motorists have too many times nearly hit me on the road even though I followed all state laws. When my children were growing, they rode their bikes to visit friends, and now that they’re grown and away at college, when they visit home from college, they road ride. Please protect my children and all of the children who ride their bikes on our Malibu roads. Please ensure that our Public Safety Commission represents everyone in Malibu, and not just a narrow perspective. Let’s all just share the road.
Sonia Ottusch