Star Herald issues thumbs for reckless bicycles, turn lane abusers, unleashed dogs and more

Maybe it’s the barometric pressure, or maybe we didn’t receive enough happy “thumbs” from readers, but this week we’re all down in the thumbs.
Thumbs down — to bicycle riders on Main Street sidewalks. The painted red circles with a line through a bike are fading at downtown intersections, but common sense would suggest it’s unsafe for bicyclists to whiz by storefront doors where pedestrians could be struck while exiting a business.
We have world-class bike paths in Luverne for recreational riding, but bicyclists with downtown destinations should travel with traffic on the street, per statute.
Thumbs down — to bicyclists who disregard their stop signs along bike routes. It should go without saying that it’s wise to yield at intersections where cross traffic doesn’t stop.
Newly paved, contiguous bike path miles in the community are a dream to ride on, but contiguous pavement doesn’t mean intersections should be disregarded. In a bicycle-vs-automobile collision, the biker never wins.
Thumbs down — to automobile drivers who use the Highway 75 turn lanes for merging. The open lanes are for left-turning traffic that moves without warning into the middle lane to execute a turn. Imagine the hazards of a car traveling in this lane suddenly encountering a stationary, signaling vehicle. Many law enforcement officers don’t use the word, “accident” to describe a crash, because that would imply it was unavoidable. Think about that.
Thumbs down — to dogs off leash in public areas. We love our dogs. You love your dogs. But we don’t all love everyone else’s dogs. Nor can we trust that the dogs will love each other.
For the safety of all dogs and their human companions, please keep your dogs on a leash around other people and pets. And for gosh sake, clean up your dog’s poop.
Thumbs down – to wasting ink on these obvious “thumbs down” mentions. We’re better than this, people.
Now, let’s get busy submitting “Thumbs up” suggestions for all the positive things going on around us. Call 507-283-2333 or email editor@star-herald.com.