Letters to the editor for Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Organization of Epic Rides event needed work

The Epic Rides activities taking place in downtown Carson City were not epic for the residents on the west side.

The road barricades were confusing and did not correspond to the race map, which we downloaded from the city website. It showed controlled access to the area from Division Street. This was not the case for my mother-in-law.

My in-laws live near Musser and Division streets. On Friday, June 17, my mother-in-law was coming home from running some errands. Once she reached the downtown area it took a half an hour to reach her home. It would have been a five-minute trip if the streets had not been barricaded. She drove to one barricade on Division Street and was denied access. At another barricade she told the officer she lived off of Musser Street. He told her to just go down Musser Street. When she approached the barricade on Musser Street another officer stopped her. My mother-in-law had to plead and beg the officer to let her through. She was just trying to get home to her husband, with Alzheimer’s.

On Saturday, June 18, I needed to set up my father-in-law’s medication for the week. I had to drive up Washington Street, I was hoping Mountain Street would be open, but no it was barricaded. Two blocks west of Mountain Street was a detour. I was able to take the detour to Musser Street. It was barricaded five blocks from my in-laws’ house. Walking five blocks was not a problem for me, but it is a problem for my in-laws. My father-in-law uses a walker and my mother-in-law is not real steady on her feet.

I have no idea who organized this event, but the organization should have considered needs of the residents. The west side of Carson City has many older residents living in the area. They are not able to get around as easily as younger bike riders. If this event takes place again, please do a better job with map making and access for the residents.

Pamela Tumbusch

Carson City