YOUR LETTERS

It seems that Mr Moore is back on his anti-bici rant. I use the Maritimo often and am aware of the problem he mentions. However, not being a cyclist himself, he always blames the “other” without providing a solution. This is an interspecies problem where there is a tendency for “homobici” and “homoturista” to have a tendency to occupy the same territory. Often it is the height of stupidity that tourists fail to recognize the different texture and colour of the bike path, clearly marked with the symbol of a bike, and other symbols of a dedicated roadway such as zebra zones, and median lines. I understand why monolinguals might have difficulty dealing with “no peatones”. Never mind that “no” means “no” [something]. What would help is a rather simple procedure of putting up a few bilingual signs pairing the two expressions, and encouraging the various print guides to include an explanation. Many times, I have come up behind clueless British tourists calmly strolling along the bike path, when the view is much better on the side closest to the sea. Rather then go around them on the side of the on-coming bikes, to get them to move, I point to the words and symbols and say “no pedestrians”, and get a look that says, “there is plenty of room, why don´t you ride your bike in the much wider pedestrian area?” Richart Goss

Porreres