Hey, drivers: This isn’t war

Re: “Denver is waging a war on cars and drivers,” Feb. 12 commentary

There is no war on cars and drivers.

In a real war, people are injured and killed. In 2019, 71 people were killed in Denver in collisions with motor vehicles, mostly cars. Many more were injured.

Some might argue that, if anything, cars and drivers are the ones waging war — but I don’t. What’s actually going on is merely a reallocation of space (roads and sidewalks) and time (traffic signals and speed limits) more equitably among users who prefer different ways of getting around.

Cars are personalized and comfortable. They create an illusion of convenience. They are also expensive, polluting, dangerous and mostly reliant on a source of energy (oil) that drives international conflict. Yet they have been our favored mode of transportation for 100 years.

When any favored group sees resources that were prioritized for them allocated more equitably, they feel oppressed. That’s not a war, however. Saying it is merely illustrates how desperate the previously-favored group feels about defending its priority.

Reallocating space and time may make the car commute longer. The car commuter still gets to sit in a comfortable space, insulated from the weather that pedestrians and cyclists travel through and transit riders wait in, and from the physical effort non-drivers have to put in to get where they’re going.

Drivers need not declare an imaginary war. They can just leave earlier.

Jerry Tinianow, Denver

Editor’s note: Tinianow was Denver’s Chief Sustainability Officer from 2012 to 2019.

Cost-of-living adjustment not keeping up with reality

For four out of the last five years, our Social Security cost-of-living adjustment has been less than the rise in our Part B premiums and Medigap premiums. So we are getting less in Social Security benefits.

This year our loss was approximately $11. For those trying to live on Social Security alone, the prospects are increasingly gloomy. To add insult to injury, if you have other income and have to tap it to make ends meet, it is considered income and your Social Security benefit is taxed. It seems that we are invisible since Congress has done nothing to address this situation.

What this means is that for some of us our effective tax rate will be more than those corporate giants who pay almost nothing. It is time for Congress to also address the health care costs of seniors on Medicare. Since it’s an election year, let’s hear some proposals. As seniors, we all vote.

Rochelle Padzensky, Denver

Focus on the roads and bridges

Re: “Dems, GOP probe way to fund transportation,” Feb. 17 news story

Taxes are taxing, no pun intended. However, taxes can be good if used for their intended purposes. Our roads are terrible but all we hear from Dems and GOP legislators is that they can’t agree on what to do. Being a conservative most of my 65 years, I get tired of taxes being passed for one thing, then our legislators decide to use it for something else.

Put this on the November ballot, add a 1/10th tax to our gas tax making gas a full cent. In addition place a 1/10th tax on all motor vehicle parts/accessories including oils and grease. At least with such a tax, all will be affected.

Even electric vehicles need maintenance once in a while. This is a minimal tax increase that will affect every citizen in the state as well as anyone visiting or just traversing our state. The increase shall be labeled for road and bridge repairs only — not to be diverted for any other use with a 15 to 20 year expiration timeline.

Richard Gianzero, Thornton

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.