Leg it to school

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Concerns raised about walking to school

Kathy Scott can walk her 5-year-old daughter half a mile, to within sight of Powhatan Elementary School, but she can't safely cross the two-lane rural road to reach Hope's kindergarten class.

Without a traffic light or crossing guard, Vinson Road has been deemed unsafe for pedestrian traffic. Instead, buses ferry dozens of students from the Glen Laurel subdivision across the street, or parents wait in long drop-off lines after driving them to school.

Concerns about child obesity and gas prices have fueled interest in today's national Walk to School Day. Students will walk to thousands of schools nationwide -- at least 15 of them in the Triangle.

'A cycling culture' is shop owner's vision

Jason Merrill brews a pot of Counter Culture coffee in his bicycle store every day, free for his customers to sip as they chat.

Next to the pot are a few mismatched mugs, a box of raw sugar and a couple of teaspoons for stirring. The cream is in the mini-refrigerator against the other wall. The couch is coming soon.

But the coffee isn't just coffee to Merrill, who opened Back Alley Bikes last month at 108 N. Graham St. It's one small way he's hoping to help create community: a bicycling community.

More letters on bicycling

Bicycle riders are not the only travelers on Carpenter Road who are scared. I have traveled this road for the past 15 years and have become alarmed by the bicycle riders over the past five years. This is a narrow, twisting back country road with numerous bad sight lines and a 45-mph speed limit.

Many times I have rounded a bend and come up on a bicyclist doing 15 mph. Now, I’m scared of another motorist plowing into the back of me! This situation has come close to happening more times then I like to think about.

I also have drivers passing bicyclists on the other side of the double yellow line, coming head-on at me in the bends in the road! Then, there are bicyclists talking on cell phones, riding two abreast and blocking sight-lines of the motorists or in huge groups that you cannot pass, riding before dawn or after dusk and during rush hour. I am waiting for a car crash along this road caused by a bicyclist. Some of these roads are not designed for vehicles traveling at such disparate speeds due to

Evenings for socializing

Wednesday evening, I walked into a restaurant called "Wildflowers" in downtown Henderson. Standing just inside the door was John Tracy of Raleigh, an acquaintance from the last two MS 150 rides. Immediately, we decided to eat together and began trading war stories about the past few days. When the hostess approached with menus, she asked, "Four?"

We turned and saw two guys standing behind us.

"You cyclists?" John asked. Yep, they replied.

Grant to fund new paths for children

The state Department of Transportation last week awarded Wake Forest a grant to help construct biking and walking routes to school for elementary and middle school students.

The $330,704 grant is part of the Safe Routes to School Program, a federal program that encourages biking and walking. The program provides funding for a variety of projects, including greenways, new sidewalks and safer street crossings.

The Wake Forest Planning Department plans to construct greenways around Forestville and Rogers roads, where the presence of multiple schools has caused morning traffic jams. Completing the walking and biking routes will cost about $2.5million, according to town staffers.