LETTER: Able-bodied should pay for own activities

Janet Collins (in her Sept. 8 letter “Senior lives matter”) has a great point. The state, county or city streets and roads are built and maintained with gasoline and vehicle license taxes. These are from the people who use the streets and roads. When bike and walking paths/trails are built they are paid for by all of us, but used by only by able-bodied, who buy expensive bikes or expensive walking shoes.

I believe that the ones who use these paths/trails should buy a license tag to pay for the state, county or cities to do the maintenance, same as taxes for the public streets and roads.

When we get more mature or are disabled we can’t always do what these younger athletic types do. When we use sidewalks to go shopping or other needs, we are paying for these with property taxes. But we should not be required to maintain something we can’t use.

Also since I am on the subject of “able-bodied” versus older and disabled, I constantly see many able-bodied people parking in handicapped parking. You know who you are and should be ashamed of yourself. —Dexter Hamilton, Kalispell