Humps are useless

These measures are a scar on our localities and do very little to save lives, all considered.

For example, bus speeds in Eastfield Avenue, have not reduced. Why? Because the buses can put their wheels either side of the hump, so they are unaffected.

But cars cannot, resulting in them being forced to slow down, thereby causing pollution and increasing the risk of accidents because buses end up close to their tails - sometimes too close for comfort or safety.

The pity about this is that road humps could have been avoided by using a decades-old method operating on the London Underground in the busy central area.

By a series of linked signals a train is allowed to move up close to the one in front by keeping to a set slow speed.

The train ahead is protected by a red signal, which will not change if the following train goes too fast.

There never was any reason why the idea could not have been adapted for road use linked to cameras at set intervals and with punitive fines, as opposed to the £60 slap-on-the-wrist fine for serious breaches of the set limit.

The Specs cameras now in use in Nottingham work on this principle and, in my experience, they allow the traffic to flow at the set speed with the minimum of pollution.

John Potter,

Eastfield Avenue,

Haxby, York.

...YOUR feature on speed humps asked whether we should scrap them.

Previous governments gave local authorities the power to install physical traffic-calming measures, be these humps or chicanes.

City of York Council's highway engineers recommended them in areas where local residents requested them.

Past Labour councillors followed this advice, which has undoubtedly saved many lives and injuries. Now those former councillors are rising to the bait, and using speed humps as a weapon to publicly bash the Lib Dems.

This attitude is beyond me.

Calming traffic speeds transcends local politics. I can recall my local roads being used as racetracks by some drivers before humps were installed.

The pollution argument is simply being used by objectors determined to defend their right to drive at their chosen speed, rather than at a lower, safe one.

Most do not live near the roads which they would like to speed along.

The Government's Transport Research Laboratory is working on "intelligent" humps which retract at the approach of a vehicle which is being driven sensibly. However the cost and technology makes widespread introduction a long way off. If we rip up the humps, who will pay for the ensuing carnage?

How many more parents will decide that roads are too "dangerous" for their children to walk across or cycle along, and this will cause more problems during the "school run"?

Paul Hepworth,

Windmill Rise,

Holgate, York.

...I HAVE just read the article by Liz Edge on "How can the city improve roads?", and I wish to ask her where, and at what time of the day, she carried out her "careful studies" on bus usage in York?

I use First's number 10 bus service every day, and every day this bus is full, usually to the point where people often have to stand.

I am sure this is not a one-off, and other services are just as busy.

I ask Liz Edge, rather than spending six months of careful study, to spend ten minutes at any time of the day at the Rougier Street bus station carefully monitoring bus usage, and I should expect her original findings to be totally incorrect.

Keith Jackson,

Lyndale Avenue, York.

...LIZ Edge had the edge. Sorry for the pun but I couldn't resist. How refreshing to read her completely unbiased, and factually accurate, account and criticism of the "holy grail" of traffic management measures the City of York Council continues to implement with religious fervour.

Hers and the council's views differ on one crucial aspect. While the council's traffic management measures are largely based on "conventional wisdom", along the lines of oversimplifications such "speed kills" and "buses are good" wrapped into a pseudo-green agenda, Liz Edge's views are based on fact and are backed up by Department of Transport reports and figures.

I find this very encouraging because I had come to the same conclusions almost two years ago studying Department of Transport reports on the same subject matter.

One can only hope more people take heed of her enlightened views.

Oliver Starzynski,

Murton Way,

Osbaldwick, York.

...YOUR correspondent Liz Edge is right on every count about scrapping the speed humps.

Although it is sad she was not able to influence her fellow Labour councillors when they were in power to provide an alternative solution.

CP Hird,

York Road,

Haxby, York.

Updated: 10:10 Friday, April 02, 2004