To The Editor:
In response to a recent letter regarding bike lanes along our highways, this is to clarify why bike lanes haven't been as successful as drivers and cyclists would like.
A bill written by the late state representative Lixi Fortna, Warren, which was passed and called for creating bike lanes when roads are rebuilt, has been circumvented by VTrans which has concerns about rights of ways and encroaching on people's property.
Several of us, both in the Legislature and otherwise, also tried unsuccessfully to get more of them. The current director of the Agency of Transportation's Highway Division told me that due to the impact on utilities, private properties, trees, environmental resources, etc., it was not possible; that it was shelved for a few years, then eventually canceled and is still not possible.
There will soon be a paving project between Waitsfield and Waterbury, but it'll only be a thin overlay intended to extend the life of existing pavement. With no opportunity for widening, at least lanes will be painted to emphasize and maximize any available shoulder. Sharing, respect and caution by all are certainly essential.
Judy Larson DiMario
Fayston
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