Transportation planners should walk in others' shoes

Brian O'Neill's March 30 column "We Don't Walk, So We're Running Out of Gas" highlighted the difficulties that nondrivers face in getting around the Pittsburgh region and correctly noted the implications for our personal health, local land use and even the global environment.

As an able-bodied but visually impaired nondriver, I experience those challenges on a regular basis. Try, for instance, getting from the South Hills Village T-Station to the Washington Road Borders bookstore -- on foot. Or check out the difficulty of traveling by bus from an evening meeting on the North Side to your home in the East End, Carnegie or Penn Hills.

My suggestion is that every board member of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission -- the planning body responsible for shaping transportation and land use -- should spend one day each year traveling with a nondriver, to experience firsthand the importance of a transit system and pedestrian links.

But they shouldn't travel only with me. They should really experience the trials of a low-income person, who has to shuttle between multiple jobs, shopping and child care, often at nonpeak hours. (This is not an isolated case. Consider the fact that nearly 50 percent of African-American households within the city don't own a car.)

As the saying goes: "Walk a mile in another's shoes." If we and key decision-makers did, it might be better for our collective health, our region and our planet.

RICHARD ST. JOHN
Greenfield

Dangerous spot

Every day on my commute to and from work, usually on bicycle or on foot, I'm faced with the intersection of Baum Boulevard and South Millvale Avenue. I was sad, but not surprised, to hear of the accident Wednesday morning that killed one person and injured two others at that intersection ("South Side Woman Killed in Bloomfield Crash," April 5 Web story). If the mayor wants something to "redd up," this intersection would be a good place to start.

Motorists rarely drive any slower than 40 mph along Baum, yet I've never seen anyone pulled over for speeding there. Between the curve in the road and the buildings and parked cars that obscure the view, drivers on Millvale headed toward Oakland have what amounts to a blind spot looking up Baum at the intersection -- yet they're allowed to turn on red. On top of that, traffic on Millvale is separated into two lanes at the junction, but there are no signs specifying traffic patterns for each lane, causing confusion and frustration among drivers.

There are accidents and close calls daily among people just trying to negotiate the intersection. Crossing as a pedestrian or cyclist is just plain perilous. There must be more traffic signs there, there must be more of a chance afforded pedestrians and there absolutely must be enforcement of the speed limit on Baum Boulevard.

ANDY MULKERIN
Bloomfield

Leading in reading

Kudos to the Allegheny County Library Association for sponsoring the Rally for Reading at the City-County Building portico on April 4, as the opening event for One Book, One Community.

Now in its fourth year in Allegheny County, the purpose of One Book, One Community is to encourage everyone to read and discuss the same book during the same period. One Book, One Community is an exciting program that advocates widespread reading and raises awareness of the importance of literacy. Since 1991, the Allegheny County Library Association has been a visionary leader for our region, promoting the highest- quality public library service possible for our residents and supporting a variety of effective community literacy initiatives.

This year's One Book selection is "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, which explores themes such as the risks and rewards of standing up for your convictions, how communities can help empower individuals to do that, and how we can all support individuals who have been victimized.

Whether you're sharing fairy tales with your newborn baby or enjoying "The Kite Runner" as an adult, reading is the most powerful tool we have as a community to begin addressing a myriad of issues ranging from school readiness and job preparedness to cultural sensitivity and ethnic and religious understanding.

For more information about how you can participate in One Book, One Community, visit www.onebookonecommunity.org or call the Allegheny County Library Association.

KEITH G. KONDRICH
Executive Director
Beginning with Books -- Center for Early Literacy
East Liberty

Get involved

I suggest the FBI's infiltration of the Thomas Merton Center, an act that received no official censure after public exposure ("Merton Center Claims Evidence of FBI Spying on War Protesters," March 11), shows that those in control of the reins of government are afraid of the people and of democracy, and that they will do whatever it takes to keep the people from effective involvement in political affairs.

Polls consistently show that the majority of people want single-payer health care, a cleaner environment, an end to the Iraq war, government programs to fight poverty, a living wage, etc. The elites will not implement such policies, and they consider those of us working toward those goals as an enemy worthy of illegal government attacks.

During the civil rights and Vietnam War period, when the people were aroused and demanding justice, our government called citizen involvement a crisis in democracy. Long live Orwell. We need another crisis in democracy. Consider joining the Thomas Merton Center, of which I am a longtime member.

SANFORD KELSON
Conneaut Lake

About kids in cars

This letter is directed toward those who choose to leave their children unattended in a vehicle. Recently, my wife and I have twice encountered a child strapped in a car seat in a parked vehicle. One caretaker was off doing a bank errand, another reliving pre-infant days with the "boys" in a sports field. When we approached, we advised them to "never ever" leave an infant alone in a car. It matters not whether the windows and/or the moon roof are open or the child is crying.

The reaction was the same and possibly outsourced from a deep knowledge that they were wrong. "Mind your own business!" "Call the [expletive] police." "This is my kid."

Parents, be advised that any person engaged in employment or working with children are mandated reporters. This means that we are bound by law to report child abandonment. It does not matter the cost of your clothes or value of your SUV. By law, we are obligated to report any threat of safety to a child, whether that child is strapped alone in a vehicle or running unattended in the street.

However, don't take my word for it; consult with the Children, Youth and Families agency or any child care or legal professional. Leaving your child unattended, only for a minute, places that child at risk to be taken, either by a legitimate agency or a diabolical agent.

ROBERT MARINOV
Stanton Heights