Letters to the Editor 07/18/2012

To the Editor:

A scary near-miss this week convinced me that back-in parking is the right choice for our busy streets.

Parked head-in on Hood Avenue next to a pickup with a canopy that blocked my view, I craned my neck and slowly backed out. Driving on down the street I check my rear view mirror and see a good friend following on his bicycle. When he catches up at my next destination he says I almost took him out as I backed out. It was only due to his quick reflexes that a collision was avoided.

It was impossible to have seen him as I backed out due to the obstructed view. I breathed a sigh of relief and blessed his good reflexes. This is just one of the reasons why back-in parking makes sense. A dear friend could have been seriously injured. If I had backed into my parking space in this situation I would have had a much better view of oncoming traffic and the incident would not have occurred.

I have parked on Main Avenue many times since the new parking system has been in place and find it not at all difficult and a much easier and safer way to reenter traffic.

Clyde Dildine

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To the Editor:

I had the occasion to park on Main Avenue this week, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of back-in parking.

I've always disliked pull-in parking because whoever invented that system failed to think through the process of backing out of the space blindly into traffic (I mean, really, who ever thought that was a good idea?).

Fortunately for us, those who pay attention to such matters seem to have figured out that we're not doomed to continue to do something the way we've always done it just because it's the way we've always done it. Back-in parking is a much better idea, and I salute those who brought it to Sisters.

Tom Bergeron

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To the Editor:

After watching the back-in parking fiasco on Main Avenue the day of the quilt show it's obvious that the risk to cyclists is much greater than it was before. Now cyclists have to be concerned not only about vehicles pulling out in front of them but they have to watch for the cars that are turning left coming from the opposite direction to park on their side of the street. After what I saw this past Saturday it's clear that somebody is going to get hurt unless the city enforces the back-in parking ordinance or scraps it as Glen Lasken suggested last week.

I think it's a given that most people turning left to park on the wrong side of the street do it because they know they have poor backing skills or just can't see where they're going. This means enforcement will result in more accidents and damage to vehicles. Or worse, people that are uncomfortable backing into a narrow parking stall will avoid Main and the businesses on that street will suffer.

I don't understand why Main is the designated east-west route through Sisters for cyclists when both bike shops are on Hood and the vast majority of cycling venues are on the Hood side of town; McKenzie Pass, Three Creek Road, the trails to FivePine and Tollgate, and the extensive Peterson Ridge system? Is it because some businesses on Hood have more clout with the city than those on Main? City officials have some explaining to do. What they have said to date makes no sense.

Mike Morgan

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To the Editor:

I'm very scared. I have read that because of back-in parking, people have stopped shopping on Main Avenue, several businesses are now failing, senior citizens are swarming to chiropractors because of strained necks, accidents are occurring in unprecedented numbers and worst of all, we are losing our freedom.

I know I am odd because I have learned back-in parking. Does it mean that I am weird because I actually find it easier and safer? I miss that anxious feeling when I used to back out into traffic where my view was completely blocked by a van next to me and I couldn't see what or who was coming. I liked that risky feeling. I felt alive (at least temporarily). I liked the idea I could hit a biker or another car and be able to say "it wasn't my fault. I couldn't see you."

As my business is on Main Avenue I can tell you that my clients are calling up in droves to say that they are not going to see me anymore. They have made it very clear that they would prefer to drive to Bend and Redmond rather than submit to back-in parking.

I have been told by an inside source a private study has found that in just the two weeks since the implementation of back-in parking that La Pine is now the premier destination in Central Oregon.

I have also noticed that women in town are looking scruffier. Their hair is cut slovenly as if someone did it in their kitchens. I won't even dare mention what their nails look like.

I also understand that back-in parking begins the slippery slope to having roundabouts in our streets. Doesn't anyone else remember how chaotic Bend streets became after the first roundabouts were built?

Finally, as a senior citizen I defend my right to back out into traffic without ever having to turn around and look. It takes away all the fun in my life when I have to back into a parking space I know is empty. Where is the excitement in that?

Ken Serkownek

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To the Editor:

A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter asking the community for help for a homeless family. I am thrilled to report that our community responded with the help of the post office, who rerouted the mail to the correct address in spite of my typo.

The family I originally wrote about is now living in a home, offered to them at an affordable price. It took several weeks before that happened, and in the interim, they were gifted with several of the items they so badly needed to make camping life more manageable. Two people sent money, which I stretched and utilized to the maximum benefit for this young family, and I thank you for your trust in that task. Thank you to all who responded!

I have been made aware of two more families out there now. Both clean-cut, non-hobo types, without drug or alcohol problems and either working or diligently seeking work.

One of these families has a two-year-old child and the young woman is expecting. The other has two young children, elementary-school age.

One of the challenges that these young people are facing is that it is illegal to reside on public land. They have to pack up their camp and move every two weeks or are ticketed with stiff fines.

I am asking again, if anyone has a job, a house, apartment (or even a shack) or a property that a family could camp on, please contact me.

Other things they lack: Camp chairs, folding tables, tarps, a solar shower, coolers, lanterns, wash basin, water jugs. Any of these things would make camping easier, and it certainly doesn't have to be new!

I was out at both camps this weekend and was impressed to see that both camps were clean, organized and looked to the unsuspecting passerby as if it was just a nice suburban family getting out into nature.

I know you (Sisters community) do not owe these families anything. We have all worked hard to get where we are. But if you feel led, by God, or whatever deity directs you, to lend a helping hand, please feel free to contact me, and I will put you in touch with these families.

Mary Mathison

P.O. Box 1295, Sisters, OR 97759