Unclear rules hard to follow

It’s no surprise that the new King Street Cycle Track was met with immediate condemnation. Our poorly written and confusing bicycling laws help foster contentious opinions.

According to the Hono-lulu Police Department, "Generally you can ride a bicycle on sidewalks anywhere outside a business district."

State law defines a business district as "territory contiguous to and including a highway when within any 600 feet along such highway there are buildings in use for business or industrial purposes."

The buildings must "occupy at least 300 feet of frontage on one side or 300 feet collectively on both sides of the highway."

Meanwhile, BikeShare Hawaii will introduce 1,700 bicycles in 2015. Its study briefly mentions educating "people about how to drive in the presence of cyclists." Nothing is mentioned about educating new cyclists on where they can or cannot ride.

Unless laws are clearly written and understood, frustrations will only escalate and potentially hurt our new programs.

Ted Crawford
Diamond Head

Crosswalks need flashing lights

Now the city is talking about lowering the speed limit on King Street.

Yes, that might work, especially if it made the speed limit 0. No cars moving, no pedestrian accidents.

Here is a reality check: Slower speeds mean fewer cars can transit the area in a given time period. That means worse traffic. Worse traffic means fewer breaks in traffic for pedestrians to make crossings.

The real fix? Flashing LED lights embedded in the roadway on either side and for the full length of the crosswalks that are activated by pedestrians to alert drivers. They exist and they work.

We should have these at every crosswalk that does not have a stoplight.

Robert Gould
Kaneohe

Education board not open enough

At a December state Board of Education meeting, a proposed amendment to increase allotted testimony time for individuals from two to five minutes was voted down.

Amy Asselbaye, the board member who proposed the amendment, was the only "aye" vote.

As a current public school student, I want to give kudos to Asselbaye for her effort and encourage other board members to join her.

There were many calls from individuals throughout 2014 to improve public accessibility at BOE meetings. In fact, the board’s chairman, Don Horner, committed to lawmakers during his confirmation hearing to improve public accessibility and make meetings more public-friendly.

I hope 2015 will bring positive changes for public education and transparency.

Perhaps the BOE should make a New Year’s resolution to be more engaged with the public school community and the estimated 180,000 students it serves.

Kendrick Chang
Hawaii Kai

Certainty can lead to cruelty

Jared Diamond warns that in America the ranks of the "certain" are growing along with a sadly predictable outcome of civil unrest ("The necessity of compromise," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 31).

Kenan Malik of The New York Times, in an article titled "Radical Islam, Nihilist Rage," discussed the religious certainty that countenances Taliban attacks on more than 1,000 Middle Eastern schools in the last five years, and the deaths of hundreds of schoolchildren.

We may stand aghast at that total, but the advantage of certainty is this: We don’t matter.The problem isn’t religious certainty per se, but any philosophy that grants certainty and, hence, unaccountability to its adherents.

So, here’s a New Year’s wish. Always keep in mind Mark Twain’s complaint about certainty: "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."

Philip Brewbaker
Kailua

List of ‘greats’ left off B.J. Penn

I was shocked to see that Ferd Lewis overlooked B.J. Penn in his great article, "Among the best" (Star-Advertiser, Jan. 11).

Penn was known as the greatest pound-for-pound Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter in the world. He competed in five weight divisions, spanning from featherweight to heavyweight. And as far as worldwide popularity, there is no person mentioned in the article better known than B.J. Penn.

We in Hawaii love to take credit for all these athletes, but we should really be sharing the accolades with others: Marcus Mariota with Oregon, Shane Victorino with Boston, Akebono with Japan. Penn is a true home-grown champion, starting in Hilo and ending in Hilo.

As for difficulty and danger, I’m sure Penn participated in all of the sports represented on the list for fun in his spare time. But I highly doubt any of them would or could spend even a minute in his sport.

Sam Murai
Hawaii Kai

Clay Stanley snubbed again

Your list of Hawaii’s "greatest athletes" to which Marcus Mariota is compared in your Jan. 11 front-page story predictably left out Clay Stanley, a three-time volleyball Olympian.

In 2008, he was the most valuable volleyball player in the world, leading the U.S. team to an Olympic gold medal. He was the MVP of both the Olympics and the European Cup. His accomplishments and awards far exceed those of many of the fine athletes on your "greatest" list, most of whom were never close to being considered the best in their respective sports, as Stanley was.

I have noticed similar snubbing of Stanley in other Star-Advertiser articles about great athletes from Hawaii. What gives?

Kenneth Stewart
Kailua

We should heed Army’s warning

It would be wise to take heed of potential cuts by the Army in Hawaii ("Army cuts seen as ‘devastating’" Star-Advertiser, Jan. 10).

The Army knows what it will take to respond quickly to any crisis that may develop in the Pacific Theater of Operations and what could happen if its strength is cut by 45 percent. In addition, a strong military force in Hawaii will serve as a deterrent to any potential troublemaker.

The economy being cut by 19,800 spenders and adding to the unemployed list will be a huge burden the state will have to deal with. Moreover, because of less spending, businesses may find it necessary to downsize. I do not believe this is what we want.

Bill Punini Prescott
Nanakuli

Motorcycle noise worse than ever

I have visited Honolulu 11 times. My first visit was in 1973. Since my last visit in 2008, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle noise has gotten much worse, particularly in early morning and late evening, even including gang rides, even on Kala-kaua Avenue. I stayed this time at a hotel on Kuhio street. The citizens of a direct democracy would be able, I am sure, to get rid of this insanity on two wheels.

Walter Schuhmacher
Gadstrup, Denmark