Litter just part of the problem

This litter problem seems to fall into the general category of actions by individuals with what appears to be a lack of personal integrity, such as vandalism, theft and burglaries, vagrancy and aggressive panhandling. These problems aren’t going away, they are getting worse. Although the problems are created by individuals, collectively they are generating a disaster for the rest of us. At some point, these actions significantly degrade where we can go and what we can do, which degrades and diminishes our quality of life.

The courts, state, county and city seemingly can’t respond. The recent articles in the paper and on the local news reinforce the existence of the problems and the inability to deal with them. However, what most of the articles seem to miss is the significant collective problem – it’s “tons” of trash, “lots” of vandalism, “numerous” thefts and burglaries, “extensive” vagrancy and homeless camps, etc. To solve the problems, we first might have to be honest about the extensive nature of these problems and not view them as one-offs. Maybe we just need a new slate of elected officials.

Back to cycling and glass, I wanted to say thank you to the overwhelming majority of drivers who give me and other cyclists a little extra room. Sure, there are some that try to buzz you, but most are great. Even though I always try to ride on the far-right side of the shoulder, there are times when you must move left to avoid glass (it’s not just being woozy on the bike!). How it is that there is always a car coming at that very moment, I’ll never know, but the extra room is most welcome. Thanks!

Thomas Colosimo

Spokane