ms BICYCLES have been 8 much in the News of See. late, or rather the a behavior of cyclists and other users of the roads iy towards cach other. ’ Policemen being stationed ™ on the Lions Gate Bridge to im prevent people breaking each other’s bones over the use of the ‘sidewalk? Is this the fruit of the New Age when peace is to be given a chance and @ the cougar will lie down with im the child? — -I must admic that for sev- @ eral decades I hadn’t paid m much attention to the bicy- m cle. I got blackmailed on ‘three occasions into buyin ever-more complicated an expensive contraptions so that my off-spring could keep f up with their peers. Although I was progres- mailbox A eS a i a sively assured that these devices could climb Mount Everest, I never actually saw them being pedalled up Seymour Parkway never mind the South Col. Eventually they disap- peared from my garage, along with their owners, and it was- n’t und I started my last ven- ture into open-line radio that T became aware of the bicycle in its modish role as the sym- bol of the latest version of the smug urban yuppie twit and, simultaneously, as a highly efficient and deadly weapon in the hands, or rather between the knees, of messenger persons and louts of both sexes intimidating harmless old codgers like me strolling on the seawall in Stanley Park. On three occasions while crossing town in rush hour “couriers” left me with incipi- ent cardiac arrest by running red lights and jumping kerbs in front of my car. They were apparently rely- ing on the speed of my aging reflexes and the state of my brake-linings to preserve them from death or disable- - ment, for which you and I would end up paying after the legal bloodsuckers had taken their one-third rake-off. = Mad at Park Royal = mall management ; Dear Editor: =” Open letter.to Mr. Rhys Duggan: =~ I sincerely hope that the North Shore News has quoted you m accurately regarding traffic access to your so-called new and improved Park Royal. The not-so-veiled threat in your quoted statement has not only raised concerns about the process by which large decisions such as these are made, but has dropped the standards of nego- tiation and dialogue to an astonishingly new low. . Let me tell you this: if you think thar you can just do what- ever you want, perhaps we will have to find an alternate solution mathat may not involve you. It'is indeed unfortunate that the council has turned their mg back on your crappy traffic report. They should have tacked copies of it to every telephone pole in town with a headline that Nsaid, “Look at this stupid idea, anybody want a chance to vote Pon iv” The last expansion of Park Roval resulted in a ridiculous aze of traffic patterns and screw ed-up parking lots. IT am also very disappointed in the direction that the tribal chiefs of the Squamish Nation seem to be taking — get back hat was.taken and do what you want regardless of any stan- dards or care. Slow down all you guys — people are really upset about this. Paul Grinnell West Vancouver AY -OLUS! B.C.A.A. - ARA APPROVED CENTRE loriv ECi 12 CiALISTS Our 39th Year ALL MAKE COLLISION REPAIRS “LIFETIME GUARANTEE” Alternative transportation arranged a TALKING » Estimates x YELLOW PAGES 299-9000 Consultation (7ialsis.. 985-7455 “DON TAYLOR Same owner far 39 years 174 Pemberton, N. Van (5 biks south of Marine) 3a bob north shore news VIEWPOINT Bicycles, bridges and balderdash I also observed the cool arrogance with which a cam- paign to reserve the Burrard Streec bridge for cyclists and pedestrians was undertaken under the expert guidance of AlderPerson Gordon Price. The bridge was closed for three days to all except cyclists and pedestrians. The results were interesting. Chaos ensued on the other False Creek crossings, which were already over- crowded. The Burrard bridge was crowded on the first day with gaily apparelled cyclists and pedestrians successfully bent on creating photo opportuni- ties for their buddies and soulmates in the mainstream meedjuh. On the second day those of us patiently waiting at Pacific and Burrard noticed a marked decline in the merry throng. On the third day the heav- ens blessedly opened in a classic West Coast downpour and a solitary figure wrapped in oil-skins and leggings and with a huge wax-impregnated hat came painfully pedalling over the bridge to the ironic applause uf the assembled motorists. Tt may well have been AlderPerson Price himself, sticking to his buns. On the other hand, as we lawyers say, my nearest and dearest presented me with a bicycle for my birthday this year. It is a splendid bright red color and has 18 gears which I have no intention of trying to use. Things have moved on in the past 40 years since I rode a bike that had no gear change at all. The intention was appar- ently therapeutic and its use, it was said, would improve my circulation and respira- tion. Well I don’t know about that but I can tell you I am back in the heart-attack zone. Even as I ride through the peaceful country lanes, I find my life threatened by punks and drug-store cowboys in pick-up trucks who scream abuse and seem to resent my very presence on the road as if I didn’t pay my taxes too. The problem, I realize, is people, not vehicles, or even their competing uses. We have created a selfish, uncivi- lized and greedy society, a generation of vipers, where any thought of respect for other people’s rights or wish- es is drowned out in a shrill DRAPERIES & BLINDS BY S.LAURSEN & SON Serving the North Shore for 25 years ‘Another one of our r designs. For Free Estimate call 987-2966 CAsk about our Seniors Discount) Labour $10.50 per panel unlined, $11.50 lined. Low Low Prices FREE Hearing Tests Sct For Senior Citizens (North Shore) Hearing tests will be given at the Beltone Hearing Aid Centre in North Vancouver on Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Anyone who has trouble hearing is welcome to have the test. Many people with hearing — don't “need hearing aids, but only a modern hearing test like the one being offered by Beltone can really tell for sure. Everyone should have a hearing test at least once a year — even people now wearing a hearing aid or those who have been told nothing can be done for them. Only a hearing test can determine if modern methods of amplification can help them hear better. The hearing tests will be a geiT Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in North Vancouver. Free in-home testing is also available. Please call for an appointment. Call: 988-4477 #217-1940 Lonsdale Next to London Drugs Government Bcensed Hearing Instrument Specialists and Audiologist; registered under the Hearing Aid Aci B.C. Wednesday, October 29, 1997 ~ North Shore News - 7 chorus of Me! Me! Me! Things brightened up when an RCMP officer stopped me because I wasn’t wearing a helmet as I ped- alled up my country lane. I explained thar I have a very large head, possibly the largest i in British Columbia, and that I had been unable as yet to find one to fit me. He said, “I know you have a big head because I used to listen to youon the radio. If you can’t find a hel- met why don’t you wear a turban? That's legal!” To which I answered that all I wanted to be was a cyclist not a member of the RCMP, and we parted with Lube, oil & filter r change $28.95 Pennzoil 10W: bie valid with other ie mutual expressions of esteem. Incidentally, a charming young lady in the big, sports store in Park Royal dug around until she came up with a helmet, a hideous pur- ple thing, but it titted, and was the only one in the super-big-head size.She was kind enough to say it was obviously all due to my huge brain. — The North Shore News believes strongly in freedom of speech and the right of all sides in a debate to be heard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of the newspa- per itself. .. /OFF| 1362 Marine Drive 980-9115 Open 7 days a week Mon-Sat 8:30am-6:30pm, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm All services fully warranty approved Pa BF Defieux-Saxelby aInsurance eServices Inc. 105-200 West Esplanade North Vancouver (Located beneath Famous Players Theatre) CARTER FINANCIAL aviso Converting Your RRSP to - Call for your Free loaner copy of David Tafler’s best selling book CALL 925°5565 MIDLAND WALWYN @LUE CHIP THINKIN ™Blue Chip Thinking is a trademarl: of Midland Walwyn Capital Inc. Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund Sponsored in part by: @ Templeton