Mailbag:

When citizens learned of the Senior Center in Central Park plan, the rally cry went out: Save our open space, save our park!

When citizens learned that the Fountain Valley School District wanted to sell a school property for a housing project, the rally cry went out: Save our ball fields, save our park!

And now, when citizens have learned of a plan to develop their downtown neighborhood park, the rally cry has gone out: Save our library, save our park!

The message Huntington Beach citizens have for City Hall is clear: Residents highly value their park space, and they won’t give it up anywhere in the city without a fight.

Mayor Bohr’s mind has gone to the dogs

If you want to know the attitude of our illustrious Huntington Beach mayor, Keith Bohr, he said in a local Orange County newspaper Friday that the residents are resistant to any change (“Residents rally to oppose cultural center project,” Orange County Register).

This statement was in regards to replacing the Main Street Library with another commercial building. Bohr is quoted as saying, “Nobody wants anything, anywhere near them, ever.”

Could this have anything to do with all the problems that are constantly plaguing downtown residents versus businesses that have been cited on numerous occasions for code violations? It could also be his developer real estate background, and if it is dirt, put asphalt or a building on it. Huntington Beach has done such a good job with Pacific City.

If Bohr had stopped there, he might not have made one of the most condescending and ignorant comments ever to come out of a mayor’s mouth. Quote: “It is a library with a patch of green space in a triangle that people bring their dogs to pee on.”

A better solution than red-light cameras

Huntington Beach Police Chief Ken Small wisely rejected the use of traffic light video cameras (“City rejects light contract,” June 4).

I believe that using video cameras might create an “I’ll be good until I pass the light” syndrome for some drivers. This is the same phenomenon that sometimes occurs when a police car is parked in a neighborhood driveway.

Because roughly 75% of all traffic accidents occur because of speeding, I have an idea. Why not lower the speed limit on all heavily traveled streets by 5 mph?

There will still be some motorists who exceed the limit, but hopefully they won’t travel as fast, and we’ll save gas in the interim.