Opinion/Letters: Commuting by bicycle on Cape Cod is hell. Here are some ideas to change that.

As a daily bike commuter on Cape Cod, it was interesting to read about the problems that plague those of us who aren’t on the bike trails for a casual ride. (8/12)

My ride takes me from my home in West Yarmouth to Ocean Street in Hyannis every day and it’s fraught with problems. I also take an annual ride from the Canal to Provincetown once a year and reached out to a Times reporter to join me to highlight some issues but my answer to “what cause is this for?” Being “cause I want to” was apparently not enough to warrant interest.

I’m regularly subjected to kids screaming “get off the road” to having trash tossed out the windows at me. But behind the rude and unknowing, there are several ideas that could help.

I’ve asked several times for the police to enforce the law of riding with traffic. Don’t go looking for wrong-way riders, but at least stop them when they ride right past a parked cruiser.

When cycling and coming upon another cyclist, someone has to go out into traffic. Roadside trees and bushes should be trimmed — the bushes past the Baxter Grist Mill are coming right out into the road, which forces riders, me included, into traffic.

Post at least one sign that says “share the road with cyclists.” Several would help but one would be a welcome sight.

How about a street sweeper? Any idea how much broken glass there is on the side of the road? Take a bike ride and you’ll find out. It wouldn’t be hard to make the Cape more bike-friendly but even pedestrians doing their daily walks are off the list of road safety concerns. Otherwise, we’d have sidewalks on the major roads. What is a biker to expect?

Stephen Larivee, West Yarmouth

Death with Dignity law could lead to withholding of medical care

As a physician, I strive to enable and help people to do and accomplish what is important for them.

We do not have to be without issues to contribute to the greater good of family, friends, and society.

When diagnosed with a terminal condition, persons can make emotional, panic-based decisions instead of rational ones.

Limitations do not make us useless. Take the case of Stephen Hawking. His severe disabilities from ALS, should not be seen as “infantile dependency" or “a period of life drained of meaning,” as most of his productivity and contributions to humanity were made after his diagnosis.

I had the privilege to care for a formidable woman, diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and a survival prognosis of less than 6 months. Through her determination and scientific advances, she lived for about a decade, saw her daughter get married, travel and have meaningful interactions with others. The proposed Death with Dignity law has the potential, as seen in other states where it has been approved, to enable others to restrict care and provide assisted suicide as a cost-saving alternative, misleading people when most in need.

Available palliative and hospice care address unnecessary suffering in death.

Dr. Miguel Prieto, Bourne

Political candidates must be clear, honest

Thank you for providing coverage of local candidates for office. I am writing specifically about the profile piece about on Republican Primary for state Senate Cape and Islands District. (8/16)

Two of the assertions by political newcomer Daralyn Heywood beg for some elaboration. First: “schools are failing our students” had me re-read to be sure of what I was seeing. In a time of unprecedented international health crisis, our local schools have done praiseworthy work. From the bus drivers to support staff, maintenance personnel, administrators, cafeteria workers and most certainly, classroom teachers, there has been demonstrable resilience, flexibility and creativity. THANK YOU ALL!

Second, Democratic incumbent Sen. Julian Cyr was labeled a “single agenda activist”. Cyr has been an advocate for all forms of social and economic justice, among them minority rights, increased minimum wage and rights of pregnant employees.

Additionally, he was instrumental in gaining funds for the Cape and Islands Water Protection Fund. And in 2018 the Massachusetts Police Association (at the same event that honored Sgt. Sean Gannon’s life) awarded Senator Cyr its “Legislator of the Year” award in recognition of the amendment he sponsored that provided funding for municipal police training. Perhaps candidate Heywood will tell us which of these is the “single agenda” that she identifies.

This fall will mark the 50th year that I will be voting in this district and I think that candidates owe it to voters to be clear and honest when tarnishing institutions and characterizing potential opponents.

Bob Rice, Brewster

Vacation rentals a vital part of the Cape economy

In the article “Orleans grapples with rise in rentals,” (7/18) Planning Board members expressed concern over the increased number of vacation rental homes in town and their effect on neighborhoods.

My husband and I own the short-term rental business, WeNeedaVacation, which has listed homes on the Cape and Islands for the past 25 years, long before Airbnb came into existence. As of this May, we are now full-time residents of Orleans, having rented our home for 27 summers. We see the rental situation from both sides.

As owners in a family neighborhood, we vetted our guests very carefully. We encourage our homeowners to be responsible in carefully selecting their guests.

The 2019 short-term occupancy tax required that short-term rental homeowners register with the state. Of the 14.45% tax for Orleans, 6% goes to the town, a huge influx of revenue.

As to the concern about short weekend stays at “party homes,” only 6% of our homes (4% in Orleans) rent for less than a week during the summer.

There is also concern over the number of investors who purchase multiple homes for rental. Only 2% of our homeowners have more than three listings. We cannot speak for the larger international booking sites.

We support registration for short-term rentals in Orleans. Many towns on the Cape already require registration and adherence to restrictions. Consistent abuse could result in loss of the right to rent. A modest fee would help defray administrative costs.

A cap on the number of licenses issued for short-term rentals could impact the desirability of our real estate, as potential owners would rightly fear being on the wrong side of that quota. Most people who rent absolutely depend on rental income to be able to afford their homes.

Vacation rentals have been a vital part of the Cape Cod tourism economy for decades. With careful planning, the town can achieve its goals while not affecting the local economy’s dependence on the second home rental market.

Joan Talmadge, East Orleans

FBI action at Mar-a-Lago required

Now we know that when Trump left the White House he took with him to Mar-A-Lago documents that he should have turned over to the National Archives.

At one point he did give back to the Archives some of the documents he had taken but kept very many and some of them were highly classified.

Later, the Justice Department subpoenaed him to turn in those documents but he did not.

So recently, the FBI was sent to Mar-A-Lago to get those withheld documents and they came back with boxes and boxes of documents.

We can only imagine what might have become of those documents if no effort had been made to retrieve them. Still, it took over 20 months to get the documents.

John B. Kent, Cummaquid

Commission action on Twin Brooks project invites an appeal

Funny things happen on the ugly road to dense development that ignores the people’s will.

The latest was action by a Cape Cod Commission Subcommittee. Their job was to assess evidence about a national developer’s proposal to put big barrack-like structures on environmentally important land in Hyannis (Twin Brooks Golf Course), and compliance with the Regional Policy Plan. You’ve seen the developer’s product if you’ve traveled down some of the country’s most unattractive roadways with giant cookie-cutter apartments alongside.

At a mid-afternoon meeting, when working people can’t show up, the Subcommittee did a fly-by of staff recommendations. Then, without deliberating the facts and law the public raised, it voted to move the high-density development onward.

It was striking.

When the government wants public buy-in, it does that by addressing the facts and laws the public raised. Not by ducking them. This subcommittee response? Flocks and flocks of ducks.

When government is tasked to evaluate facts and law and doesn’t actually do that, it invites appeals. Appeals cost money — yours — to defend. This subcommittee’s action suggests comfort with spending more of your money in court.

Watching this unfold — a subcommittee abandoning its core function and principles — calls into question the commission’s purpose.

By the way, the Cape Cod Commission has said short-term rentals are "a significant driver of Cape Cod’s housing shortage.” Let’s fix that for locals with sensible regulations before thrusting dense development on us that upends the reason people love Cape Cod.

Heather Hunt, Osterville

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Letters: Commuting by bicycle on Cape Cod is hell.