Readers Write: May 3
Squeezing traffic will not make more bikers
Bill Torpy’s snide piece about Decatur’s planned bike lanes (“Decatur bike plan targets traffic habits,” Metro, April 24) misses the point: Decatur and Atlanta metro refuse to deal with horrific traffic resulting from wildly encouraging development, while totally ignoring the impact of additional cars that high-density development means.
It is irresponsible to blame cyclists; cyclists are targets of much misdirected driver rage as it is. As a cyclist in Decatur, I fear for my life any time I ride my bike on city streets, and am extremely discouraged by the danger of cars whizzing by on Clairemont at over 50 miles an hour.
However, reasoning that squeezing traffic will make more people consider biking is totally fallacious. Sticks never work better than carrots; adding to the resentment drivers already feel toward cyclists certainly doesn’t help.
Decatur/Atlanta: it’s too late to stop the gorging you have done on high-density development without planning for traffic. Fix the traffic messes you caused.
BETSY SHACKELFORD, DECATUR
Does wage hike hurt low-skill jobs?
As a current economics student, it has been brought to my attention about the debate surrounding the idea of minimum-wage raises, and the effects not only on those who have increased paychecks, but also the firms that must pay for those individuals. While I understand why people believe that raising the state wage would help bring employees up from below the poverty line, I have also seen studies that show that if this is required, companies hire more skilled workers, and thus oust low-skill employees (according to John Horton of New York University). My question is, if this has been proven to be the case, why do people still advocate for changes that would deeply affect those who work in low-skill jobs?
JACOB MINERT, POWDER SPRINGS
