Dear Editor:
I just read the letter from Angela Koudstaal in June 13's North Shore News (Learn to Share the Road with Longboarders) and would like to comment.
I think she is very brave to let her son longboard on the road. I agree, kids need exercise, but longboards and cars are not compatible on the same stretch of road. A car is a big, powerful piece of metal, which weighs a lot and has an engine and brakes. A skateboard is tiny, weighs very little and has no engine or brakes. If there is a collision, guess who wins?
I think kids should be able to longboard, but there should be either roads set aside for this purpose or something like a skateboard park created for them.
I was driving down Cypress Mountain Road one day when I saw a longboarder going down the middle of the road. He was going the same speed as the cars, and at the time I thought the car behind him was protecting him, but it passed him halfway down.
All he needed was an instant to make a mistake and he would have been dead. I do not approve of killing off kids because they want to longboard on the road.
Pam Juryn North Vancouver
