Dear editor,
First of all, thanks for your great publication. I really enjoy your work and look forward to each issue. I also appreciated the coverage of the bike-share program (“Bike-sharing program gaining wheels for those with peddling preferences,” Aug. 2, Page 5) and am hoping, in the spirit of true journalistic and community discourse, you will consider printing some of my concerns. 
It’s my understanding that the La Jolla Visitor’s Center is being considered as a place for one of the DecoBike bike rental kiosks. While I really like their overall vision of interconnected bike access across San Diego communities, I feel strongly that the enthusiasm is not being tempered with common sense about having kiosks in La Jolla Village. 
Next time you’re driving or walking through the Village, notice how cars are parked. Many are high-risk for backing into bikers due to the angle of the parking spot. For parallel parkers, car doors unexpectedly swinging open as people get out are a common cause for serious bike injuries, though, of course, not as tragic as a moving car hitting a biker. Thus, the safest place for bikers on the road is toward the center of the street, but that will slow down already congested traffic. That’s why bike lanes are so important. I wish we had them! But, given that we don’t, how can we, in good conscience, set our visitors (drivers and bikers) up for a horrible exchange? We want their memories and stories of visits to La Jolla to be good ones — not awful, or even worse, fatal. 
I realize I may be in the minority, and have respect for the fact that this may happen regardless. I just think the public isn’t getting the full picture from what’s been represented in La Jolla Today thus far. I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but don’t you think safety should be part of this dialogue? — Leslie Ziegenhorn, La Jolla