I am a resident of Berkeley and work part-time at the YWCA at 2600 Bancroft Way. Twice in one week I was crossing intersections south of campus in the busy early afternoon when a cyclist whizzed through, endangering and unnerving pedestrians. The first time, a young woman stepping onto Bowditch Street at Durant Avenue was spared by only a few inches from being knocked down by the cyclist who, coming downhill the wrong way on Durant Avenue, cut the corner sharply in front of her. She and I made eye contact and rolled our eyes, but kept moving. A few days later I was crossing at Bancroft Way and Bowditch Street, walking behind two athletic looking young men, and a cyclist, hurtling down Bancroft and not wearing a helmet, roared through in front of them. The men looked at each other in surprise and walked on. No one said a thing to either cyclist.

I am appalled that pedestrians are not safe to step out into a crosswalk without worrying about a cyclist who doesn’t pay attention to the rules of the road. As a society, we want to encourage non-polluting sources of transportation and people exercising to keep fit, but this kind of behavior creates hostility toward cyclists. I believe the majority of cyclists are considerate and law abiding, but now I am on alert for those cyclists who are reckless. I hope that next time I will use my voice to yell, “Hey, watch out!”

Mary-Ellis Adams is the volunteer coordinator for English in Action at the YWCA.

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