Student safety is a real concern.

And the Undergraduate Council writes that it will inform all of Harvard's undergraduate student body--more than 6400 people strong and a potentially big voting bloc--about how each City Councillor votes on the bill.

So both sides are essentially right. Cambridge kids and senior citizens deserve to be protected from unnecessary dangers--and so do Cambridge bikers.

The best solution would be a short-term compromise and a long-term plan to solve the problem once and for all.

The short-term compromise would allow bikers to use the path that runs around the perimeter of the Common--but not the paths that run through the Common. Signs would be posted that warn both bikers and parents of the danger of accidents when using the perimeter path.

The long-term solution--which the Undergraduate Council, to its credit, mentions in the letter--is the creation of special bike paths in the Common or special bike lanes on city streets. Such an arrangement would serve the interests of both parents and bikers. It would cost money, to be sure, but it beats the dangers of either the status quo or the pending City Council bill.

Whatever happens with the vote in the City Council, however, this battle will be a victory for the beleaguered Undergraduate Council. Coming from an organization best-known these days for losing money on concerts and rigged Social Committee chair elections, the letter to the City Council provides an example that the Undergraduate Council is indeed capable of looking out for the interests of Harvard students.

Kenneth A. Katz '93 is an editor of The Crimson. His column appears in this space every other Monday.