Arrow-right Camera
Subscribe now

This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

The Slice: ‘Pick a lane’ doesn’t mean veer right and park

I certainly don’t claim to speak for all Spokane cyclists.

Opinions on this vary widely, no doubt.

But here’s my unsolicited assessment of when it’s OK and when it is not OK for someone driving a car or truck to briefly park in a clearly marked bike lane.

OK: To attend to an injured animal in the street.

Not OK: Pulled over to get another beer out of the cooler on the back seat.

OK: Want to make a phone call and don’t wish to do it while driving. (Though there are probably better places to stop.)

Not OK: “I’m going to run into the house right here. Just be a few hours.”

OK: Medical emergency impairing driver’s ability to safely operate the vehicle.

Not OK: “I think bike lanes are stupid.”

OK: Car is suddenly making a sound reminiscent of a B-17 engine that has taken flak over Wilhelmshaven.

Not OK: The notion of consideration for others is an alien concept to the driver.

OK: LSD flashback.

Not OK: “Hey, there’s plenty of room to park right here inside this white stripe.”

OK: Ran out of gas.

Not OK: Hoping an inattentive cyclist will rear-end their vehicle.

Just wondering: How many people of a certain mindset move here from larger metropolitan areas and quickly decide Spokane is too, well, you know, and Bozeman or Bend is where they need to be?

Re: “There’s nothing worse than…”: “There is ALWAYS something worse than whatever,” wrote Lan Hellie. “And then there are those ‘If there is one thing I can’t stand’ people. Except, after you are around them for a while, you find it isn’t one thing. It’s hundreds of things.”

This sounds unusual but maybe it’s not: There are same-era alums of the same colleges in other states who did not meet until they were living in Spokane.

Warm-up question: How do people who go camping manage to not keep wondering if their home is being burglarized?

Today’s Slice question: Is there any kind of soreness your co-workers regard as too personal in nature to discuss at the office?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Agree or disagree: Someone too young to remember the Cold War would benefit from checking out the 1964 movie “Seven Days in May.”

More from this author