Tiburon Boulevard bikes plan deserves support

I am writing in regard to the article published May 16 with the headline “Tiburon Boulevard bike lane critics fail to deter Caltrans.” I think the plan is a unique opportunity for local communities to be forward thinking in embracing multi-model transportation.

This has been in the works for many years. It includes goals and components endorsed by local, county and state agencies, dating to 2012. Caltrans conducted the public notice and environmental review required with opportunities for agency and public comment.

As a resident of the Greenwood Beach Road neighborhood, I strongly endorse Caltrans’ plan. Instead of exacerbating safety issues, I think it will enhance safety by moving fast bikes from the very unsafe conditions on Greenwood Beach Road — a narrow road with no sidewalks, blind corners and hundreds of walkers, joggers and bicyclists on weekends. Higher-speed bicyclists will instead use a Class IV bikeway adjacent to a four-lane section of Tiburon Boulevard.

Greenwood Beach Road can continue to serve as a “safe route to schools” for bicycling students; a popular route for walkers of all ages and capabilities; and access for visitors to local parks. Moving the growing number of high-speed pedal and electric bikes from Greenwood Beach Road to new separate and protected bike lanes will enhance safety for all groups.

The design of the proposed bike lanes has proven to be safe when implemented in other places. Effective bike routes are one solution to congestion, not the cause. As both pedal- and electric-bike riding continues to grow, our communities need the infrastructure to support this growth and ensure safety for all. Any safety issues, including with school bus stops, should be resolved with modest design adjustments.

— Greg Moore, Tiburon

Downtown housing plans bad for San Rafael

I read the letter by Ernest B. Hook protesting traffic congestion that will likely be produced by new residents in the planned 17-story building for downtown San Rafael at 700 Irwin Street at Second Street. Then I read the article announcing approval of another building, eight stories high, nearby at the corner of Irwin and Fourth Street (“210-apartment complex approval,” May 17).

Our leaders need to realize that it is nearly impossible to drive through downtown during rush hour. Trying to make a left turn off Second onto Irwin going north is quite a chore. With an addition of many more new residents nearby on Irwin, I suspect there will be even greater bottlenecks in all directions.

According to the article, an economist on the Planning Commission states this will be good for business. I think only gas stations will benefit as engines idle while drivers wait and fume. I think city officials should only urge developers to propose new apartment complexes to former sites of malls, department stores and movie theaters that are closing. Those places already have plenty of parking.

— David Solomon, San Rafael

Troubled by what Trump’s decisions could lead to

Tariffs to China should be zero. We should welcome their willingness to supply us with cheap dolls and other more complex items that the country is so sorely in need of.

For instance, China is the largest supplier of inexpensive solar panels. It is currently at 50% capacity in building solar panels. In other words, Chinese manufacturers could double their output and allow the world (especially the United States) to put these panels into use. If we want a future, the climate crisis demands that we not wait. China will be instrumental in helping. With that in mind, I think the decisions that President Donald Trump is making, including the outrageous proposal to restore dirty coal to our electrical generation capacity, simply don’t make sense.

If we keep China happy building solar panels, I think its leaders will not be distracted into thinking about when, or if, they should invade Taiwan. I find the geopolitical instability that I believe has been created by the president to be chilling. I worry Trump is on a trajectory to start World War III, which could be a way for him to stay president for a longer period of time.

— Howard Ortman, Sleepy Hollow

Don’t increase military funding amid other cuts

Peter Behr Jr.’s letter, dated May 15, offers his approval for the Trump administration budget proposal to increase spending for our military. This budget proposal increases defense spending by 13% to $1 trillion. Our military budget expenditures already exceed that of the next nine countries combined. It seems to me that we are already spending sufficient funds.

Behr implies that our military needs more tools to defend itself aggressively and to keep morale high. I think there are some good proposals in this budget: an increase in spending on medical care for veterans and a “make America healthy again” initiative, to cite a couple of examples. However, it also proposes wholesale cuts to the National Park Service; nuclear energy and waste management; clean energy and charging programs for electric vehicles; climate and science research; housing assistance and health programs. Those are cuts I do not support, especially as part of a budget plan to extend cuts tax to the wealthy.

— Bernie Samet, San Rafael

Reagan stopped worst inflation in many years

I think Ronald Reagan is arguably the best president of the 20th century. I objectively judge presidents by how closely they hew to the Constitution, the best document the world has ever seen for democracy. I think more countries should copy ours.

All Reagan did was support Paul Volker’s efforts to halt the worst inflation in the U.S. since the Civil War; his policy pulled us out of the 1982 brief economic relapse; then he cut taxes even more than former President John F. Kennedy did in 1963. He then proceeded to win the Cold War, ongoing for 40 years, without firing a shot. He completed his eight years with a more prosperous and less coercive government than any since the Dwight Eisenhower administration.

I think former President Jimmy Carter, who lost to Reagan in 1980, lasted one term because his Middle East policies deposed the shah of Iran. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a long-time friend of America in the Middle East. He was replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. According to what I’ve read, Khomeini started widespread terrorism that still rages.

— Roland Underhill, Novato

Move on from 2024 story about Biden, Democrats

I am writing in regard to the article by the Associated Press published in the IJ on May 18 with the headline “Audio release of Biden pressures Democrats.” I’m mystified by the obsession with former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity and the accusation of some kind of devious cover-up.

To give the naysayers every benefit of the doubt, Biden did appear noticeably slower late into his term and his debate performance was disastrous. Should he have bowed out of the race early on, and did handing the reins to then-Vice President Kamala Harris later in the game doom their reelection prospects? It’s impossible to know for sure.

Had Biden bowed out in early 2023 instead of announcing he’d run for reelection at that time, I think Republicans would’ve had a field day with endless partisan attacks — a classic “damned if he did, damned if he didn’t” situation. Had he won reelection, it is uncertain if he could have completed his term. As the article notes, even with diminished faculties, his competent, if overly protective, staff ensured that there were no meaningful threats to the affairs of state or national security.

The markets prospered under Biden and the nation enjoyed its sterling reputation for global leadership, stability and generosity. I don’t think the same can be said under the current occupant. Rather than Biden, we should focus on the apparent smorgasbord of corruption, incompetence and lawlessness in Washington today.

— John Redfield Brooks, Fairfax