Letters to the editor for Tuesday, May 14, 2013

With fences gone, curb and traffic are too close together

On second thought perhaps it wasn’t the best of ideas to remove the fence along Carson Street. I was among a group of friends that participated in the monthly wine walk on May 4 and was curious as to how it would feel to walk with the fences removed. Well it felt uncomfortable and frankly a little unsafe. I realize that the fences did not provide protection from vehicles veering onto the walkway, but now there is no protection from pedestrians veering into traffic. Several pedestrians shared this concern and specifically mentioned how they were concerned for the safety of their children. The fence removal accomplishes nothing as there is not an increase in access to crosswalks and obviously there is no parking on the street that would require the removal of the fences. There seems to be very little space between the curb and the traffic. Perhaps one lane in each direction with parallel parking would be a nice remedy. Oh that’s right, that was the initial plan but this was the compromise. From what was observed Saturday it seems as if it should be either remove the lanes or reinstall the fence.

Hal Hansen

Carson City

Pedestrian mall would make downtown a destination

Right on, Ilona Strull. A pedestrian mall along Carson Street, maybe from Fifth Street up to the Nugget would be fantastic! We don’t need to wait for the completion of the freeway bypass; the portion affecting main street is already complete. Cars could easily be diverted along Stewart Street — already at 35 miles an hour — and a natural bypass. Just imagine strolling around, not worrying about traffic, shopping, having lunch or dinner, visiting the Capitol Building or the Legislature, and going to the State Museum. Fun for tourists and residents alike.

Many other towns and cities have been revitalized after turning a through street into a pedestrian mall. I think we could do it here.

Frieda Ford

Carson City