THE GLOWING article about the bicycle sharing program made me laugh and cringe (“Nation’s capital captivated by those cherry red bikes,’’ Page A1, May 1). Adding huge numbers of bicyclists to city streets is ludicrous, given that cities can’t regulate the ones they already have. Anyone can climb onto a bicycle and ride, oblivious to regulations. Training is not required in most areas, nor is licensing.
As a frequent pedestrian, I encounter bicyclists who run red lights, ride on sidewalks, refuse to stop at crosswalks, treat pedestrians like obstacles, and care only for themselves and their ability to get somewhere quickly. I have had more near misses than I care to relate. The police rarely do anything.
I live in Cambridge, and while some city council members are sympathetic to these concerns, many are just hunky dory about bicycle sharing. They minimize or dismiss the problem of bad bicycling, and say that pedestrians and motorists are bad too. No kidding.
I hope that a follow-up article will discuss rules of the road, how these rules will be disseminated to new bicyclists, and how the rules will be enforced.
Hans Jaegerstatter
Cambridge 
