Local lranian centre needed Dear Editor: It is desirable to assist the ‘Iranian community in the iden- tification of suitable land for the acquisition and consiruc- tion of a community centre because we are desperately ~ short of neighborhood meeting places, space’for children and youth, space for various cultur- - al groups such as dance, the- atre music and space for recre- ation.’ *- In’ a more enlightened ‘world district. council would build such community facili- ties and,pay. for it from’ the - interests generated by the dis- trict heritage fund in turn fund- -ed by proceeds from land sales: « , Unfortunately, _ land -sale money. amounting to millions -of. dollars’ annually is used .to subsidize — district projects instead, I have been trying te. change this i irrespon- ible ‘policy,. but so far with -only marginal success. «The next best solution: to this encourage other groups” to ‘build ‘such facilities. No‘ tax- " payers’ money. is involved, The staff time allocated is negligi- - ble and is part of a normal ser- vice’ provided to all citizens. irrespective of their . creed, color or ethnic background.. ‘We are fortunate ‘that citi- zens of Iranian descent have come forward. with this pro-" “posal, We will atl benefit. Ernie Crist, Councillor District of North Vancouver KIDS FOLLOW THE. - WATER SAFETY RULES “pO YOu? i The ‘Canadian Red Cross Society BLACK Tusk (Pub, : Restaurant, 4 Ratio) | Meet at the Tusk! | 25¢ wings” Yorkshire _ Pudding ° $1.95, Nachos $1 5 Mon: Tues: ” 92.95 ‘Mexican Pizza $1.50 1200 PARK ROYAL | “SOUTH + 922-5311 operuting expenses disguised as: capital ” serious. problem ; is. to - iP > peddling bad bike “package of Money raising penalties designed to Dear Editor: The recently announced bicycle safety initia- tives provide a stark example of the incompetence of the NDP government in dealing with important safety concerns. Their. proposal combines poorly thought out penalties with a misguided “education” campaign while continuing to ignore the fact that the real cause of bike accidents is bad road design, which . fails to provide any margin of safety for cyclists. The public may have heard about new penalties “for not wearing a helmet, but less known ure other penalties they came up with that are completely foolish in real-life application. For. instance, legislation was passed that requires cyclists to take their hand off the handle- bars and point down when coming to a stup. As a longtime cyclist | know that if you put on the . brakes of your bike with only one hand on the bars you can quickly lose control ‘of your bike, especial- ly if you ; are going downhill. . We rm up to the latest fall fashions! From stylish, fall overcoats to comfy : “casual wear, the second floor ar * Lonsdale Quay Marker has fashion looks you'll really fall for. F ‘unky new hats and shoes, classic ties, or a whole new look, shop for it at Lonsdale Quay: Markee. Cyclists should never take their hands off the handle bars when stopping. their bikes. This Manoeuyre is extremely dangerous, yet the NDP in its stunning incompetence is going to require 3 you do so by Taw with tough new penalties to back itup. That such a dangerously foalish manocuvre could be legislated into law shows how truly ill-consid- ered NDP legislation really is. As president of SPEC a group actively involved in bicycle issues, | sent letters to the minister in charge to ask to meet about various bicycle salety - concerns we had. I had pointed out some inexpen- sive road. design improvements, which would. greatly improve cycling safety by making roads safer without impeding traffic. The minister refused to meet us and brushed us off with political platitudes that they know better. | then tried to raise these issues with our local MLA and he sent back an arrogant letter saying he had every confidence the minister was doing the right thing. In the end nothing was done except for their — i | | i | I | initiatives punish cyclists, - The government press release proclaimed that head injuries are the primary cause of cyclist fatal- - ilies, so they are improving traffic safety by making people wear helmets, But it is not the head injuries that are causing deaths, it is the accidents leading to head injuries that cause death and it is unsafe road conditions for cyclists that causes accidents. . “What cyclists really need is a suit of armor not ° just a helmet to protect them from these dangerous Conditions until the government gets its act togeth- ea and designs roads that provide space for bicy- cles. As for the multi-million-dollar education tam- paign they announced for cyclists, what are they going to teach us? You guessed it: to take your hand off the handle bars when coming to a stop. Paul Hundal ‘ Society Promoting Environmental Conservation an f Shop the second floor.at: Casanova, ' Gauche Designs, J. Gregory Men's Apparel, Shop With a View, Melrose Ave, Fatal Attractions, Zig Zag and Out of Africa.