"I Said It My Way"--the dispute over bike racks

(For one week--and one week only--Paul Scott is reprising his "I Said It My Way" comments):

I have heard a lot of people laughing recently about the controversy over a downtown Decorah bike rack location.  Yes, the argument over a bike rack proves Decorah residents can argue about just about anything. 

But there is one serious question raised by the controversy.  Whatever your feelings about the issue--or even whether this should be an issue--it should disturb you that the Decorah City Council, for the most part, acted like Decorah residents were wrong to even approach the city council about the issue.  City council member Tade Kerndt deserves praise for saying "This is a public meeting--so I want to hear from the public."

The angry Water Street business owners got up and complained about being locked out of the decision-making process--and the city council then went on to another issue as quickly as it could.

It wasn't clear immediately afterward where that action--or lack of action--left the issue of where to locate bike racks.  Apparently city council members want "further study."  Fair enough.  But here are some questions:

--"What form will this 'further study' take?"  Will city officials make sure to check on the usage of the bike rack in its new location?  Or is "further study" just a code word for "We hope this controversy goes away?"

--"How long will this 'further study' take?"  If the new location is shown to be less effective in the next three months, for instance, will the location change then--or will the bike rack be kept where it is because of anger against the business owners who raised the questions?

--Most importantly, "Does the Decorah City Council welcome comments from the public?"  Several of them looked like they were running late for an airport flight two weeks ago.  If they don't like it when the public makes comments, isn't that part of the job of being a city council member?