Looking for courtesy on park pathways

The pathways of Mount Prospect's Melas Park are not safe for senior citizens walking small dogs.

A few spandex-clad thirty-something bike racers have adopted the long outer pathway as their private racetrack. When approaching from behind, these characters seem to take delight in speeding past without any warning. Today, one sped by and told me to "Get the (expletive) out of my way."

Some time ago, I asked another racer to slow down and he promptly cursed me out and told me to "get a life." It's road rage on two wheels. He must think that racing around in circles, menacing old people is a really good life.

Recently, a biker wrote in to "Your Views" that pedestrians should walk single file to the right of the center stripe so that bikers can speed by unimpeded.

Wisely, Mount Prospect has no center stripe on its pathways to avoid "my lane" versus "your lane" arguments. Anyway, when walking my small dog, he never signals his frequent lane changes and would likely be run over and injured or even killed by a speeding biker.

I have a suggestion for this biker: You stay off of the neighborhood park paths, and I'll stay off of your specially marked street "Bike Lanes."

I do think that bikers and pedestrians can coexist on the pathways of neighborhood parks if they both proceed at a leisurely pace. After all, isn't that what parks are for: leisure?

Ron Hulka

Mount Prospect