Stay off the sidewalks

    For some reason, these popped out to me and a few of my neighbors recently. We thought the signs were new.

I called Jim Gross, the public works director, who told me they've always been there. Then I called Nicholas Figge, who works in traffic safety for city police, and he said that, while there have always been signs, they're replacing them now because the old ones were so faded.

    So faded that I never noticed them? Maybe.

    The idea, Figge said, is that the new ones are nice and bright and bold, so there are no excuses for ignoring them.

    Great. Now, what can we do about the people who ride bicycles in the street -- into traffic, weaving around, ignoring traffic signals and just generally doing whatever they want? On my drive home from work the other day, five kids on bicycles were spread across Market Street, some riding with traffic, some riding against traffic. Some of them at least looked both ways before gliding through the red light, but others just floated on through.

    I wonder if they know they make it difficult fo the rest of us to drive.