Loss of handicapped parking irrelevant in long run

The Seattle Times story regarding the Seattle Center's apparent disregard for disabled citizens ["Theatergoers protest plan to move disabled parking," NWTuesday, Sept. 1] failed to put the whole situation in perspective.

Part of the Seattle Center's Century 21 Master Plan calls for the creation of new underground parking beneath a completely transformed and revitalized Memorial Stadium area. This will eventually render the Mercer parking garage itself obsolete and allow easier access to the entire center for all patrons, including the disabled.

Unfortunately, due to the rush order put on the Peter Donnelly Memorial Garden grant, all people see currently is the elimination of 13 handicapped stalls in favor of an ostensibly meager mini-park.

The master plan, however, provides a much more cohesive, awe-inspiring vision for the future of the Seattle Center. I urge anyone interested or concerned to check it out at seattlecenter.com.

-- Christian Nelson, Seattle

In remembering benefactor to arts, protect access for all

The best way to memorialize Peter Donnelly is to remain dedicated to providing equal access to the arts at Seattle Center. The very idea that it would be OK to relocate handicapped parking spaces further away from the venues they serve calls into question the Seattle Center's commitment to accessibility.

Patrons of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Opera, Intiman Theatre and Seattle Center have already expressed strong objections to the options being proposed. The upcoming years of construction on Mercer Street cannot be ignored.

For example, would that proposed drop-off area even continue to be available? What of the path between the garage and the center grounds? Construction will surely bring changing -- and inaccessible -- pedestrian routes. As already-scarce parking becomes nonexistent, maintaining dedicated handicapped parking spaces should be the center's overriding priority.

Surely there is a rational argument to be made that accessibility for citizens is a better use for precious space than landscaping -- however well-intentioned the memorial garden might be.

I do not presume to speak for the man who epitomized an individual's commitment to bring the arts to all in our community, but I cannot believe Donnelly would approve.

-- Deborah Witmer, Seattle

Makeshift handicapped parking just doesn't cut it

Peter Donnelly was a champion of theater in Seattle, and I hardly think he would have wanted to hinder patrons' access to Seattle Center venues.

Isn't there another spot on the grounds for a memorial garden? The handicapped parking must stay, based on the comments of theater patrons quoted in the article.

Spaces in the garage across the street are not acceptable. There is a place for people to be dropped off, but what if the driver is the handicapped person who needs to park and attend the theater?

-- MaryAnne Seibert, Seattle

Roads shouldn't be governed by survival of the fittest

I heartily disagree with the state Court of Appeals and The Seattle Times ["Court right to reject Seattle traffic law," Opinion, editorial, Aug. 21] that a traffic infraction cannot turn into a crime.

It seems to me that turning illegally into the path of an oncoming vehicle -- whether bicycle or car -- and killing that other person demonstrates a certain "reckless manner" and "disregard for the safety of others."

The issue has nothing to do with the "tensions created by traffic congestion" or with "competition for road space" or with "sharing limited space." Drivers need to avoid killing other people whether the roads are crowded or not!

Driving is not a contact sport or a blood sport governed by the law of the jungle: survival of the fittest. If drivers are not held accountable for criminal actions, or criminal outcomes, then we are all at the mercy of the legions of drivers who commit traffic infractions through carelessness, thoughtlessness, stupidity, irresponsibility and incompetence.

-- Dale Flynn, Shoreline

Judge had duty to uphold state law

A motorist should be held accountable for the injury or death of a pedestrian or cyclist. I understand the anger at the overturning of the Seattle law.

However, the anger is directed in the wrong direction. The Seattle ordinance conflicted with state law, and judges have a duty to determine what the letter of the law is. The judge overturned the Seattle law because it was against state law.

The judge can't change the law and neither can The Times.

What really needs to be done is to change the state law so careless motorists are held accountable for their carelessness. Those angry about the court's decision should write to their state legislators urging a change in the law.

-- Bob Fleming, Seattle

Cyclists, pedestrians not just collateral damage in accidents

Is the life of a bicyclist or pedestrian worth no more than the life of a deer shot out of hunting season?

That appears to be the opinion of The Seattle Times in its Aug. 21 editorial ["Court right to reject Seattle traffic law," Opinion]. Per The Times and the Court of Appeals, drivers who kill or injure cyclists or pedestrians are at most guilty of traffic violations. Let the motorist pay a few hundred dollars to the city treasury and take his SUV back out on the road.

According to The Times, any death or injury is just an unfortunate result of "the increased competition for road space." Has the Times decided that the unfettered competition championed by its business columnists is an ideal policy for traffic as well?

Cyclists and pedestrians beware. You are potential collateral damage in the competitive road economy, and The Times says that's how it should be.

-- Ray Redd, Lynnwood

Court rejected accountability from motorists

Perhaps the Court of Appeals ruling isn't anti-cyclist ["Court rejects city traffic law," NWTuesday, Aug. 18]. But it sends an awfully disturbing message to the cycling community.

When I read the Motor Vehicle Laws and got my driver's license, I was sobered to learn that I would be held accountable for any damage I did with the several-thousand-pound vehicle I was being allowed to operate. Perhaps the court has rejected accountability for motor-vehicle operators by their ruling in this case, too.

The Times cited the defense attorney's earnest claim that his client had not failed to do anything that was asked of him. But he left one thing out: The motorist failed to observe the traffic law. He failed to yield the right of way to the cyclist, who subsequently died.

I learned of the circumstances of this case only through reading Times' accounts and opinions of it. Nonetheless, it now seems that all noble promises made by the Department of Licensing about traffic laws being equally enforced for all users of the roads are false, and those who take to the streets on bicycles had better ride as if every car on the road is out to do them serious bodily harm.

That certainly fits my experience of commuting to work on a bicycle. And it fits the facts of this case.

-- William Imhof, Seattle

Seagulls, like the Needle, a Seattle landmark

I wonder what Ivar Haglund, founder of Ivar's restaurant, would think about the new War on Seagulls ["The war on seagulls," front page, August 4].

Can't speak for him, but I'm pretty sure if someone had called Ivar's Acres of Clams while he was still alive and asked for comments on his "feed the seagulls" sign, they'd have gotten quite an earful.

Especially if they had told him people were gassing baby seagulls and others were trying to blame the "seagull problem" on his restaurant.

His sign has been there since the early '70s; seagulls have been munching there for even longer than that without hurting anyone, and they're every bit a Seattle landmark as the Space Needle.

-- Andre Duval, Seattle

Aggressive seagulls only defending their young

All respectable parents, of any species, become aggressive if they have to defend their young ones.

I have seen crows divebomb our cats if they come too near a nest. If only we could see ourselves as the nuisance animals we are and learn to live in harmony with the wild critters who were here first, long before people were riding ferries and long before Ivar put his "Seagulls welcome here" sign up outside his restaurant.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife should be aggressive in educating people to not feed wildlife. Children love the ritual of feeding seabirds, but they are also the first, if appropriately explained at home and in school, to understand that it hurts the animals and, as in the case of the seagulls, may lead to their brutal death.

-- Ruth Kildall, Seattle

Seagull problem? Eat it away

If an endangered, threatened or protected species becomes an inconvenience, well then get rid of it. That's just human nature.

But don't waste those seagulls. Eat them. Having feasted on leftover fries and such from Ivar's, they should be fat and plump. If cooked properly they ought to taste pretty good -- a little bit like bald eagle and a little bit like barred owl.

-- Marshall Sanborn, Friday Harbor

Keep the carts in a corral

I wonder if Bellevue has looked at other cities or countries in its search for the answer to disappearing shopping carts ["Bellevue ponders measure to herd lost shopping carts," NWMonday, July 6]. I recall from living in Washington, D.C., that many area supermarkets installed railings along the edge of the store's entrance sidewalk with openings wide enough for foot traffic to pass through but too narrow for a cart to leave the sidewalk. Full carts are left inside the railing while the customer gets his car from the parking lot.

The customer then drives alongside the railing and transfers his groceries from the cart to the car. The cart never leaves the store. An interesting side effect with this system is that many shoppers with few purchases choose to hand carry them to their cars rather than return for the sidewalk pickup.

Also, coin-operated carts, similar to those used at airports, are widely used in Europe.

-- W.F. Potter, Seattle

European deposit system keeps carts at stores

Supermarkets in a European country I visit frequently use a simple automated system.
To obtain a shopping cart, one must deposit either a euro or half-Euro, which is returned to the customer when the cart is returned.

This simple system has significantly reduced the problem of people taking carts and not returning them. Perhaps a similar system would ameliorate the problem described in Bellevue, without government intervention.

-- Jay Tripp, Redmond

Mismatched ramps endanger the disabled

"Making it safer for foot traffic"? [NWThursday, May 7] How about looking at simple things first?

Take a walk on Fourth Avenue from James Street to Pike Street. Notice the large number of mismatches between the crosswalk stripes and the sidewalk ramps. The elderly or disabled who have difficulty with curbs are encouraged or forced to cross intersections partly or completely out of the crosswalk. In an hour or two, a Times photographer could make a scary montage of what downtown-Seattle pedestrians face.

Other improvements are certainly possible, but the above offenses were created/allowed by city planners and inspectors. Is that what we pay them for?

The crosswalk/ramp mismatch is true in many other spots throughout downtown. I just happen to see the Fourth Avenue examples every day.

-- Robert Bradley, Kirkland

John Lok / The Seattle Times

Crosswalk caution stations in downtown Kirkland carry a warning about risks to pedestrians.

Help avoid heartbreak of losing loved one

Before Feb. 22, 2008, I may have counted myself among the numerous critics of Seattle's recent crosswalk sting ["Drivers feel crosswalk sting," NWMonday, May 4].

On that day, my father was hit in a crosswalk less than two blocks from our house, next door to a school. He was thrown up to 25 feet and suffered, among many other injuries, the massive and diffuse brain damage that led to his death.

The driver admitted he was not looking where he was going and was charged with and found guilty of negligent driving in the second degree. He was fined the statutory maximum of $250 and continues to drive past our house in the same manner as he did that day.

It's not that I believe a crosswalk sting will change this particular driver's habits. After all, if killing my dad didn't change that, I'm not sure what would. But I believe it could make other potentially negligent drivers more aware of the foot traffic that rightfully shares the road with them.

It may not, but after losing my dad's precious life so needlessly, I feel that any action taken in an attempt to avoid this heartbreak for another family is time and money well spent.

-- Nancy A. Norris, Everett

Pedestrians responsible for safety, too

Most of us are both drivers and frequent pedestrians. As such, most of us would agree that pedestrian safety should be everyone's concern.

However, it seems that those who are often least concerned about it are many of the pedestrians themselves. Some seem determined to demand their right of way and enter crosswalks regardless of the vehicle traffic's volume or speed. Others dress like ninjas at night and become almost invisible to drivers.

Then there are those whose heads appear to be attached to necks that are totally incapable of turning to look either left or right before stepping off the curb and into traffic. Quite often those same heads have cellphones grafted to them, as their owners suddenly appear from the cover of a parked vehicle.

Drivers aren't clairvoyant, and can't read pedestrians' minds in order to know what they intend to do when they're standing at an intersection. Waiting until an oncoming car is a hundred feet away and then stepping into the crosswalk is about as safe as playing catch with a live hand grenade.

While I have no problem with Seattle's finest putting the sting on drivers who blatantly or carelessly pose a threat to pedestrians, it's past time for many of our local pedestrians to also start assuming some responsibility for themselves.

-- Lee Fowble, Edmonds