Rules of the road ignored by cyclists

It’s great the police did a recent crackdown on those nefarious jaywalkers, but what about those fools on bicycles who believe they have some inherent right and that red lights, stop signs and one-way streets are only for motor vehicles?

Why don’t cyclists have to take a road test and buy a licence and register their cycle? If so, maybe then we would have more responsibility on the road and less angry fingers.

If you are going to use the road: obey the rules.

Gerry Swanson, Victoria

Cull the flock, sell the meat

Re: Geese gone wild (News, Aug. 14)

We live close to Juan de Fuca Strait and are amazed at the sight of Canada geese flying low over our rooftop heading for their landings on the strait as well as their protective antics during the nesting season.

 That being said, they are also year-round pests that foul our parks, beaches, streets and walkways.

It might be worthwhile for the Capital Regional District to investigate changes to the protection regulations, and request proposals from interested parties to humanely cull the flocks and sell the resulting meat to cover the costs of the program.

I’m sure that there would be high demand for “Genuine Wild Canada Goose” in supermarkets and meat markets.

Darryle Black, Esquimalt

We’re the problem, not the geese

Re: Geese gone wild (News, Aug. 14)

Killing the geese is what the article alluded. Victoria politeness tip-toed around that one.

The geese are establishing themselves to biologically levels after decades of devastation.

For 1.5 million years, looking exactly as we do now, we coexisted with animals. Denying this fact, the article indulged in farcical false dichotomies: “the good guys” versus “geese gone wild” and “foreign species” versus “locals.”

To prevent sickness from their fecal matter, re-establishing wild urban habitat as existed before the car is paramount. Many more people get sick regularly due to our compromised immune systems, than from geese droppings.

The reality is we are the nuisance and the intruders, not the geese.

Larry Wartel, Victoria

Deer have eaten their way into becoming a nuisance

It is awesome to grow your own. Our family has been doing this for many years and have enjoyed the bounty immensley. 

Eating your own fruits and vegetables is not only healthy it teaches us and our children about the earth and it can also be cost effective. We also notice a dramatic difference in our grocery bills in the summer.

However, we now face a mounting problem and challenge that we are constantly battling – the deer.

There is nothing more frustrating and annoying than walking out the door in the morning or coming home from work and finding that the deer have destroyed pretty much everything that they can reach. 

Having a garden that produces requires a lot of love and attention and initially a monetary outlay, and with that, the reward is watching it grow and then turning the produce into a meal. 

It really is soul destroying to find that the deer have once again, no matter what measures we take to keep them out, managed to destroy the garden.    

We see more and more deer every year in our garden and in the city. If we lived outside the city it would be different. 

However, it is my feeling and that of many of my neighbours and friends that the deer in the city are a nuisance and that something needs to be done.  

We must be able to come up with a solution – otherwise really what’s the point of working hard to grow your own ... and feed the deer?

Heather Aked, Esquimalt

Liberals’ failures opens door for taxpayers’ revolt

The increasing drum roll from letter writers in your paper on the failures of the Liberal government seems to be leading to a citizens’ revolt.

If people want to get the government’s attention, it is time to get behind the NDP’s HST petition and former premier Bill Vander Zalm’s initiative to recall certain vulnerable Liberal MLAs.

If you Google the NDP site for the petition and Vander Zalm for recall, maybe we can build a revolt against the actions of an increasingly autocratic and arbitrary government.

Phil Lyons, View Royal