Letters to the editor | Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020: Modesto’s plan for Ninth Street bike lane is crazy

Forget bike lane on Ninth

Re “Council debates bike lane proposed for Ninth Street” (Front Page, Jan 31, Feb. 1): The city of Modesto wants to put bike lanes down Ninth Street from Tully to the transportation center at J street. This is part of the 2006 “Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan” to reduce vehicles on streets. The state of California and the federal government are giving money to take our rights away. Bike lanes will destroy our streets.

Ninth Street is a truck route through downtown with semi-trucks and trailers making right and left turns with limited space with four lanes. To reduce it to two lanes would be hazardous for all vehicles, bikers and pedestrians. Safety is not in their minds. Tenth Street would be a more practical place for bikes.

The city was considering bike lanes on College Avenue. Before we finished hearing about it, they did it, destroying College for residents who can no longer park in front of their own homes and cars parked in the middle of the street with little or no space to open doors.

They should make an Environmental Impact Report to measure the effect this would have on the surrounding area.

College Ave. bike lanes are horrible

Re “Council debates bike lane proposed for Ninth Street” (Front Page, Jan 31, Feb. 1): To the City Council: After reading your ideas I am wondering, how did you get elected? I live on College Avenue and now we have “bike lanes” — no, I mean high-speed turn lanes. No one can park on the street unless we want to get run over.

I like the idea of trees next to the bike lane and can’t wait for you to retroactively do this on College. It will definitely improve the safety of the bike riders, if we ever see any; I can count on one hand how many riders come by in a month. Evidently money is no problem for you guys.

I have tried for years to get the city to finish sidewalks on College. Only two homes on the whole length of the street have no sidewalks. I was told they will waive the permit fee if I want to do the work and buy the concrete; I haven’t stopped laughing. I wonder if they know my taxes, along with every property owner, is the reason they even have a job.

Report every Turlock pothole

My car was damaged by a pothole, which caused significant damage to my wallet and my vehicle. I filed a claim with the city of Turlock.

When my claim was rejected with no explanation, I called what is listed on the letter as the city’s third-party administrator. I was informed that the city denies all pothole claims. They assured me that the city repairs potholes or dangerous road conditions within 72 hours of being made aware of them. But the nice man said I could always take the city to small claims court if I so choose.

I choose to make my fellow citizens aware. Our city wants to take this either blind-faith or stupidity approach in saying, “We don’t know our streets have potholes,” when we all know it is a recurring issue caused by a massive lack of maintenance and upkeep. Where is the extra tax money going, if not to the road repairs we voted for?

I would like my fellow citizens to join in reporting every pothole or road issue before they get big enough to cause vehicle damage. This way the city cannot deny to pay for damage caused by poor neglect of our roads.

Few senators showed real courage

The House of Representatives and Senate argued over the conduct of probably the most corrupt president this country has ever had. Democrats in the House put together a compelling argument for removal of President Trump. They established that he deliberately used his office to attempt to force the government of Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter when there was no evidence to support any wrongdoing.

Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, a person almost as rotten as Trump, did not even call witnesses as their minds were made up or they were afraid of Trump or McConnell. Slithering in their chairs with cowardice, they all voted to acquit Trump except for one. A man of courage, Mitt Romney stood up and made clear his reasons for voting to convict. He knew the consequences. Most likely he would be blasted by the thugs on Fox News, but he stood his ground.

For Democrats, Senator Doug Jones of Alabama knew the risk, but he too voted to convict. He and Romney are a profile of courage among a sea of Republican cowards.

Once-proud Senate is a joke

The U.S. Senate has been called “the world’s greatest deliberative body.” It has now devolved into a farcical entity, intent on ceding power, responsibility, and purpose to the executive branch.

Lamar Alexander told reporters that the impeachment managers have proven with a “mountain of evidence” that there was, indeed, a quid pro quo. However, Alexander is siding with old friend Mitch McConnell. He and his party agree that POTUS can use foreign entities to influence U.S. elections because it is in “the nation’s best interest.” The signers of the Constitution just turned over in their graves.

I did not vote for a huckster from Kentucky to determine what gets done in our country. If they refuse to do their jobs, the Senate should be disbanded. That extra $11 billion annually could be used to help our vets, the disabled, the elderly, the children, the poor, our healthcare, and infrastructure, which are all being blocked by the McConnell-led Senate. Oddly, issues affecting the areas I just listed are compounding rapidly during the “greatest economic boom in the history of the world.” This rising tide is only lifting the largest ships.

Defense is a moving target

Senate Republicans, in an audacious display of Trump veneration, have alternated their extremely fluid defense: “It was a perfect call,” “He did nothing wrong,” “No one can directly dispute the facts,” “It was wrong, but not impeachable.”

Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins et al must explain why they are giving Trump a pass on lying about the call, disparaging career state department officials, including smearing Marie Yovanovitch, destroying her career, and putting her life in danger.

Republican administration officials continue to obfuscate, lie, and sabotage the reputations of our state department patriots. Why do Trump apologists allow this? See no evil, hear no evil. Refusing to call out his abhorrent behavior is, in the words of Jackie Chiles, “despicable, detestable, deplorable.”

Voting can right this wrong

We have just witnessed “the word’s most deliberative body” being bought off by the most amoral and criminal president in our history. Our republic has suffered a devastating blow. The question is, can we survive? How can Republican senators conduct an impeachment trial with no witnesses or documents in front of all of us? Is this the new normal?

We can and will survive. Our American press will keep uncovering and exposing the corruption. It will then be up to all of us, the voters, to make sure that every elected person that had a hand in this criminal enterprise be swept from office. We will need to send all the sycophants of King Donald to jail for their support of him.

So this is your task: Vote out of office all of those who had a hand in this. Try and convict all the guilty parties. Then become the most engaged and energized voters in our history. Our country is depending on you. Let’s go to work.

Thoughts on political equity

During the trial in the Senate, the president’s defense team talked about impeachment being an unfair attempt to overturn an election, never mind that nearly 3 million more people voted for someone else to be president.

Also, about 50% of the population of the U.S. lives in nine coastal states, while the other 50% reside in the other 41 states. So half of the American people are represented by 18 senators, and the other 50% have 82 senators. How is that fair?

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Letters to the editor | Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020: Modesto’s plan for Ninth Street bike lane is crazy."