Editorials / Opinion

Pedestrians, cyclists and cars currently use the same space in the city-owned parking lot along Westlake Avenue North. (SDOT)

Time will tell what the Westlake community looks like in 100 years [“Good movement on stalled Westlake bike lane,” Opinion, June 14]. One thing we do know, however, is that for more than a century, Westlake has been a thriving working waterfront. This unique mix of homeowners, businesses, boaters and tourists generates millions of dollars in state, county and city taxes and is one of the few deep freshwater ports in the United States. Maritime is at the heart of Seattle’s success, and protecting this community requires thoughtful planning, prioritization and commitment.

We are pleased that

Donna Grethen / Op Art

I find it difficult to believe, yet again, that this discussion of taxing or licensing bicycles is back on the table [“How would it work to make cyclists pay?” Northwest Voices, April 19]. It is based on some ethos of “two wheels bad, four wheels better.”

There somehow remains the ill-founded notion that

Jonathan Martin’s reasoning for bicyclists not paying their way makes no sense [“The problem with taxing bicyclists in Seattle,” Opinion Northwest, April 16]. He claims the administrative costs for taxing and /or licensing bikers is too high and hard to enforce. If this were the case, how can we afford the administrative cost of…

Donna Grethen / Op Art

The Seattle City Council approved a Bicycle Master Plan this week. The city would need to find about $20 million a year for 20 years to pay for it, editorial columnist Jonathan Martin wrote in an Opinion Northwest blog post Wednesday. How could the city raise the money?

Here are seven ideas submitted by readers. Add your voice to the conversation in the comments section or submit a letter to letters@seattletimes.com.

Pay a registration fee

The state currently registers all motor vehicles, trailers and vessels. Why not bikes?

Where I grew up, we had to pay a registration fee when we purchased a bike. The retailer put a sticker on my bike with a registration number.

So let’s start with requiring a special registration fee (based on value) on all adult-sized bikes, new or used, sold by a licensed retailer in Seattle or King County. The retailer would collect the fee and submit it with the purchase info, including name, address, etc., to the state Department of Transportation.

Current owners, those who purchase from private parties or over the Internet have one year to register their bikes or face being fined.

Dick LaPorte, Seattle

Licensing wouldn’t be practical

Again with “how can we stick it to those bicyclists?” Jonathan Martin said it himself: It’s been tried elsewhere and failed.

So since it’s failed elsewhere, let’s try it here? What would happen: Another level of bureaucracy would be created, which would, no doubt, cost more to set up and maintain than it would ever generate in revenues.

And to whom would we

Gabriel Campanario / The Seattle Times

Every letter I received in response to Joe Sullivan’s guest column on Saturday, “Why are drivers so angry at cyclists?,” took issue with bicyclists breaking traffic rules and addressed whether bicyclists should pay for licensing and road repair costs. This is a discussion that likely won’t end any time soon, with both sides entrenched, and should come to the fore again as the City Council deliberates the Bicycle Master Plan. What do you think the reasons for resentment might be? Continue the conversation in the comments. Here are the best letter submissions from readers, again, all of them putting most of the blame on cyclists:

Rudeness goes both ways

Geesh, guest columnist Joe Sullivan, get of your high bicycle [“Why are drivers so angry at cyclists?,” Opinion, Jan. 10].

Yes, there are many drivers who also do not follow the rules of the road. As a motorist, I try to be very conscientious of cars, bicyclists, pedestrians and motorcycles. Not all drivers do, I realize this.