Society is addicted to the automobile Dear Editor: I disagree with Edward White’s assessment that people must lead more complex lives now and re- quire cars in the city to survive. The reality is that people have incredible lifestyles. We engage in Gulf Wars, suck up resourses and foul the air, all so Mr. White can quickly drive the kids to swim- ming class. Sixty-five per cent of city land is already taken up by roads, parking lots, and other auto in- “dustry junk. All this so people like Mr. White can conveniently meet ose friend for lunch, all without we ever, setting foot into the real en- t. <." -Movement of cars is what most . peopte’s complex lives are about. ~ e Society is addicted to the car. -” Auto and oi! companies crap on - the planet and give nothing back except to the shareholders. If we follow Mr. White’s ‘hightmare plan of. neverending ‘road building, where do we al! ’ live? In our cars? Ooops, most folks do that now! People want two-lane harbor ‘crossings and more fancy inter- Changes: This is presumably for ‘an’ even faster drive home and more prime-time TV. . Getting to the mall thirty se- - conds faster is-important for a well-balanced complex life. To make it even more convenient there is a veritable desert of drive-thru restaurants and banks, muffler shops, and autodealers in between home and that giant parking lot. Having recently read that every vehicle is subsidized $2750 annual- ly, it’s time motorists started pay- ing the real costs for their abuse. Governments should spend more money to design our cities for all citizens, not just car owners. Pedestrian walkways, bicycle corridors, and transit must be priorities, not so-called ‘“‘road improvements."’ Come on, people, let’s do it. Hang up the car keys for one day a week. You don’t need 150 horsepower to travel five kilometres. Meanwhile, I°ll keep cycling to work wearing an air mask and lugs. Every ride usually means dodging motorists with a cellular phone in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and a coffee between their knees. Cozy in their metal boxes and daydreaming to the lat- est CD, motorists hurry to nowhere, oblivious to their surroundings. Wow, it’s a com- plex life after ail! Terry Welker North Vancouver Ferry corp. ‘incompetent’ : Dear Editor: : It is common. knowledge that when there is incompetence and “ questionable morality in the management of any industry, employee morale breaks down, ‘ customers are alienated, opera- tions become increasingly disorganized and accidents begin to occur. Is this happening to the B.C. : . Ferry Corp.? Here are a few simple questions -that no one seems able or willing to answer: Why are accidents in the operation’ of the: ferry: system becoming routine? Why are there “ suddenly so many different in- vestigations into the management of the Ferry Corp.? Why are the residents of Nanaimo and Horse- shoe Bay up in arms over ar- bitrary schedule increases that di- rectly affect their neighbour- hoods? When you run a business that involves people and public rela- tions. you have to pay attention to pie 1 have two final questions: How Jong is it going to take for the in- competents running the B.C. Ferry Corp to run it into the ground, and how many more in- nocent people have to suffer. or die before they are thrown out? Ingrid Fischer Horseshoe Bay We found the gene responsible for one form of muscular dystrophy... Heip us find the cure. Please give to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. Mailbox policy LETTERS TO the editor must be legible (preferably typewrit- ten) and include your name, full address and telephone number, Due to space constraints the North Shore News cannot publish all letters. 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