The commentary "A safe place to ride" (July 12) offered a wonderful but -- based on what Baltimore has seen over the last 10 years of giving illegal dirt-bike riders free rein in the city -- impractical idea.
A dirt-bike park located somewhere in Baltimore would be a wonderful idea if it gave riders a safe, legal place to enjoy their sport.
But the riders want to travel on the streets of Baltimore, where the action is. Remember, they ride unlicensed and uninsured motorcycles, wear no helmets or other protective gear, ignore traffic laws and often have no driver's licenses. They're not out for a Sunday ride.
How would the riders get their bikes to the dirt-bike park? Would the they all of a sudden get driver's licenses and have their vehicles inspected, tagged and insured? Or would they rather travel on the streets illegally, as they now do?
Dirt bike riding is often spoken of as an act of resistance: Police versus riders, a cat-and-mouse game or simply David versus Goliath.
But last month The Sun reported on two horrible incidents involving illegal city dirt-bikes, one involving a young woman who was run over and seriously injured by riders on East Pratt Street, the other involving a driver who was assaulted after a minor collision between her car and a bike.
If those lawless actions were what riders thought of as acts of resistance society should neither accept nor tolerate them.
Paul Johnson, Timonium