To the editor,

It has been quite a battle recently between cars and bikes — but why should the onus always fall on the car drivers (“Mean streets,” Sept. 20)? If the bike riders are always complaining about the safety of sharing the road with cars and not having enough thoroughfares specifically geared to them, then they should abide by the same laws and licensing that car drivers do.

Because more bike riders now use their bikes as their main mode of transportation, not merely for pleasure, they should have to be licensed and their bikes registered with the state. Also, their bikes should be equipped with a headlight and rear lights. It is very difficult at times to see a bike flying past you in the evening.

They should also have to obey the traffic lights and stop signs. If the bike riders took a bit more responsibility in their riding, there might not be so many accidents.

Liz Ciorciari, Williamsburg

• • •

To the editor,

Hooray for the bike explosion! I live in Red Hook, where there are no trains and it is almost essential to have a bike if you live in Red Hook.

That said, your article did not address the problem of the historic cobblestone streets, which is a huge problem for bikers. I am a safe bike rider — I wear a helmet, have appropriate lighting, use hand signals when necessary, and I’m always on the street and going in the right direction — but around my neighborhood, I MUST use the sidewalks until I can get to a decently paved road.

Kathleen Culla, Red Hook

Nice try, Mom

To the editor,

Smartmom, you are free not to like Sarah Palin (“Sarah Palin and boro: Imperfect together,” Sept. 20), but how about basing your dislikes on truths?

There is absolutely no credible evidence that Palin has called for the banning of books, or a single book. You [also] don’t know that the stem cell debate has been rendered largely moot by new techniques that obviate the need to work with embryos.

I love Park Slope (which resembles a “small town” the way the “France” of Epcot resembles the country) and Gov. Palin, and will proudly vote for her on Election Day.

And hopefully, on Nov. 5, I will be able to walk down Seventh Avenue and bask in the depression of thousands of Park Slopers coming to grips with a President McCain, a Vice President Palin, and an America safe from the clutches of “green politics,” “socialism” and the “Park Slope Doctrine.”

Steven Rosenberg, Park Slope

• • •

To the editor,

Last week’s letter from a Palin-loving soldier (“This soldier’s story is pro-Palin,” Sept. 27) had a big problem: Darwin was not religious. One reason he delayed publication of “The Origin of Species” was that he understood its ramifications for theists in general and, in particular, his wife who was an ardent believer.

If the writer of that letter watched any of the recent Palin interviews, perhaps he’s changed his mind about having her be one heartbeat away from being president.

R.K. Dillon, Park Slope

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper