A Sept. 9 letter asserted that the Island Crest Way (ICW) lane reconfiguration was done “to accommodate bicycles at the expense of cars.” This is simply incorrect.

The change was made as a safety measure in an area that had been a hotspot for traffic accidents on Mercer Island. The change has made it safer for pedestrians to cross ICW and for drivers to merge onto ICW from side streets.

When the city council approved the ICW reconfiguration in 2009, the approved change explicitly did not include a provision for bike lanes. The striping that is now in place is too narrow to meet safe, accepted standards for bicycle lanes.

Daniel Glasser