In a letter published on June 22, Bill Kennedy made a number of assertions about bicyclists, their behavior and the idea that they aren’t paying their fair share to use public roads.

I agree with him about a couple of things: some bike riders don’t follow the rules of the road and those riders should be ticketed by police officers.

By his observation, bicyclists generally don’t follow the rules. I have seen plenty of automobile drivers speeding and texting while driving. Does this mean that all drivers are reckless? Of course not. As usual, a few bad apples draw a lot of attention and can spoil things for the whole bunch if we fall to generalizations.

He complains that cyclists don’t pay into the system to use the roads. In fact, most cyclists also own cars. They pay taxes for that ownership. When those people ride their bikes they exert almost no wear and tear on the roads. If they are riding (instead of driving) to run errands or to/from work, they often end up contributing more to pay for using roads than their “fair share.”

Roads are for everyone. They are a public good meant to serve all people, regardless of how we choose to get around. With safe, respectful behavior by all users, we can share our roads safely.

More sidewalks and bike lanes would be great, but we can’t afford to build as many as we need. In the meantime, we can afford to change our attitudes.

Brendan Schauffler, Norway, Oxford County Active Community Environment Team