By Erica Mitrano, Arlington County
(File Photo)

To the editor:

I am writing to applaud Alexandria City Council’s decision to add bike lanes along King Street, a commonsense decision sure to make life easier for a class of commuters too often neglected by transportation experts and city planners.

Contrary to a recent letter categorizing bicyclists as “spandex-clad obsessives” (“City officials spend their time worrying about bike lanes?” March 13) most local bicyclists are people trying to get where they’re going without getting hurt. For the record, I don’t have any special biking clothing, spandex or otherwise, and I own a car.

But I also ride a bike to run errands or attend class when feasible, tasks that would be unremarkable except that they are frequently rendered life threatening by inept or semi-homicidal drivers. Since motorists have demonstrated that they can’t — or won’t — share the road, designated bike lanes are a necessity.

Hopefully the King Street lanes will encourage more people to trade their steering wheel for handlebars every once in a while. With our nation’s twin crises of pollution and obesity, the city council is right — and maybe even courageous — to take a stand for a clean and healthy mode of transportation.