Dear Editor:
In an article last month, West Vancouver Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones and her colleagues loaded another two-per-cent-per-litre gas tax hike on the motoring public to pay for the new SkyTrain route to Port Coquitlam (Mayors Back Gas Tax Hike for SkyTrain, July 8, North Shore News). Why we as motorists are penalized to pay for this SkyTrain expansion is beyond my comprehension; we never use the transit system and if we were to, we'd buy a ticket.
One way to raise funds for TransLink would be to license bicycles and have them pay a road tax or annual fee, the same as we the motorized public pay now for the use and maintenance of our roads. As we all noticed, traffic lanes are being taken away from motorists and designated as bicycle lanes by our municipal officials.
In many cases, bikers are inconsiderate and fail to obey traffic rules. They should be required to take a driving test, be issued a permit and pay a licensing fee, just as we motorists are required to do.
Fair is fair.
Gerry Wolff North Vancouver
