After reading previous letters to the editor of the Islands’ Sounder and discussing with others the issue of putting in sidewalks down Haven Road (which is basically a dead end) and doing away with yet more desperately needed parking, I find it absolutely absurd that the county council and planning commission would even consider going ahead with this, rather than improving two of our main thoroughfares in Eastsound. Madrona Street and Prune Alley should be the priority for sidewalks without further omission of what available parking we still have. Hopefully, we can get both locals and tourists alike to discontinue walking down lanes of traffic as if they were in Disneyland. Then there are those drivers who have the audacity to go over the centerline into oncoming traffic to avoid these pedestrians, or vehicles parked even partially blocking their lane. So where do you expect the increasing population to park?

We also have the issue of the 30,000-gallon propane tank that is apparently going to be installed on Seaview Street in the immediate vicinity of a residential neighborhood, instead of on an alternative commercial property that was available ­— despite opposition from practically the entire neighborhood. To elaborate on what Spirit stated in her letter, like a lot of things, it’s more about the money and not about what’s important, responsible or just a more sensible option. Whether local, state or national, it’s so typical of our elected officials to take it upon themselves to make the unpopular decisions without asking the rest of us to vote on the issue at hand. So, perhaps if more people would get involved and voice their opinions, we could persuade one way or another. Majority rules right? At least that’s how it’s supposed to work, isn’t it?

Mick Stevens

Eastsound