Letters to the Editor 03/10/2010

To the Editor:

We can all identify with Mike Morgan's worries about back-in diagonal parking. Learning new things is always hard.

Imagine if we didn't allow parallel parking and someone proposed it. Imagine trying to wiggle a vehicle sideways into the space, maybe smacking both the car in front and in back and ruining tires on the curb, all the while holding up traffic. As a reward, drivers get to open their door directly into the travel lane. Drivers would scream at such a proposal.

Imagine if we didn't allow head-in diagonal parking and someone proposed it. Sounds great - getting into the space is sooo easy. Then comes the downside. When kids open their doors their most direct path is right into the street. To load their trunk, drivers have to lug their groceries and baby-strollers right out into the travel lane.

Yet these are minor nuisances compared to exiting - with that SUV or pickup blocking views on the right, drivers can't see squat until they've already backed out into traffic - they just have to blindly hope for attentive, courteous drivers. Drivers would rightly doubt such a proposal.

Maybe we are, after all, fortunate that someone proposed back-in diagonal parking. This is parking that directs kids away from the street, that lets drivers load their trunk from the safety of the sidewalk, and that allows drivers to actually see traffic BEFORE they exit.

No wonder evidence shows that parking-related accidents decline with back-in diagonal parking. Of course, people will gripe at the change, as they always do. And, yes, it will take time to adapt, as with every change. But in the end we will have a safer, more convenient city - for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists - which is what our comprehensive plan says we want.

Chuck Humphreys

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To the Editor:

I have been backing into parking spaces for 30 years. It is much safer than backing out IF your car has an optically clear passenger side rear view mirror.

Unfortunately, 25 years ago the federal government decided that passenger side rear view mirrors had to be optically distorted, "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear," convex mirrors.

I illegally change my mirrors to flat ones so I can safely back up and change lanes.

Until all those convex mirrors are gone, back-in parking is a bad idea.

Bruce Berryhill

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To the Editor:

I vote NO on the reverse angle parking.

It seems that folks now have trouble pulling into a parking space between two white lines and leave enough room for another driver to crawl into their driver's side door without leaving telltale marks on both cars.

What would happen with reverse angle parking? I'll tell you what would happen. A lot of scraped doors, dented fenders, hit-and-run damage to innocent vehicles. If this method was such a great idea I'm sure downtown Bend would have adopted it long ago.

A lot of experienced drivers have trouble backing a vehicle into a limited space. Reverse angle parking is a terrible idea. Please don't put it in place.

Diana Raske Lovgren

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To the Editor:

Reading about the "reverse diagonal parking" in this week's Nugget, it sounded like a dumb idea. But I decided to take Mike Morgan's suggestion and try it out.

My only comment now is, They CAN'T be serious!

As someone who takes pride in her ability to parallel park, it was very humbling, and there were not other cars to consider or anyone to view my many unsuccessful attempts.

For one thing, without adjusting your side view mirrors to point down, you cannot see the white lines once you have backed partway in. It could conceivably be easier if there were vehicles parked on both or either side. Similar to backing down a narrow driveway with big tall pines on either side, vs. jagged, goodsize rocks.

Over and above the obvious difficulty of angling and backing up between two white lines, or two vehicles, there are several other considerations: Does one signal you plan on pulling ahead of the opening, stopping and backing in? Would the driver behind you think you were signaling to turn at the corner? On a busy summer day, how many cars would be backed up, waiting for your several attempts into the opposite lane to have the correct angle to back in?

The only "plus" is increased visibility when pulling out, but most of us have learned to back out slowly, looking over our shoulder, to see if a car is approaching.

Can anyone name one town with this method of parking? And likes it?

Mickey Duehren

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To the Editor:

Why not have two baseball teams for our 13- and 14-year-old boys - a competitive, traveling team and a Little League team? Most cities in Oregon and other states support two teams, so why can't Sisters?

Without a Little League team, many of the boys who have played baseball since they were five years old will NOT be able to play this spring because the kids have been segregated into skill levels.

This is not the Little League way.

When all kids with varying skills play together, it encourages them to improve. It's important that all of those kids with athletic ability, interest and passion for the All American Game of Baseball get the chance to participate.

Spring and summer baseball is great exercise, and it helps our children develop sportsmanship, competitive skills, and athletic abilities. The traveling team is an excellent way to push the competitive edge of a select few. However, we should not neglect the rest of the children. They also have the enthusiasm for the sport and want to play!

To make the Little League option possible, we need a coach to head the junior baseball league. Is there anyone - parent, friend, grandparent - who would like to commit to coaching this 2010 baseball season? We can build a team; we only need a few more kids to sign up (we know you are out there) and one primary coach.

This is the time to keep it equal, so that all the boys at all skill levels learn from each other. Aren't sports tryouts for high school, not middle school? Speak up, get involved, and let's organize a team! Sign up with the Sisters Little League now.

Sandy Melchiori

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To the Editor:

The health care editions of The Nugget were very informative and well written.  Thanks to the nice reporting by Jim Cornelius, Nugget editor, we were given great counsel on health care and prevention from professionals in our own community. I don't know how the editor found the time to do such in-depth work, but it was true community service.

It was nice to be exposed to the numerous forms of health services we have in our own small hometown. We have so much, and we continue to count the ways.

Bonnie Malone