tive role that cyclists have had in the construction of York's wonderful Millennium Bridge.

Several residents, most of whom were cyclists, started the campaign for a bridge which would be of benefit to all residents whether they travelled by foot, cycle, wheelchair or pram.

We held a design competition for York schoolchildren. We pressed for a bridge that was wide enough for shared use and supported the idea of cycle calming and signs giving priority to pedestrians. We can't legislate for the idiot cyclists just as we can't legislate for speeding drivers.

York's fabulous new bridge is not a 'toy' but a stunning structure which will bring benefits to the whole city. It sends the message that York is a city which looks to the future, embracing new technology, exiting architecture and preserving its environment in the process.

Paul Osborne,

Wilton Rise,

York.

...THE riverside will be tremendously enhanced by the completion of the Millennium Bridge and the landscaping works. To improve the river still more, may I suggest subsidised or free mooring for preserved historic boats?

I believe St Katharine's Dock in London obtained instant crowd-pulling character by similar means.

Suitable types might include sailing barges, historic tugboats, a wartime landing craft, steam motor yachts, or even a retired lightship, submarine, or hydrofoil.

Hugh Barwell,

Fulford Road,

York.

...I WALKED along the York Millennium River Walk to the Millennium Bridge and saw beggars, drunks, down and outs, overflowing litter bins (which incidentally are sited at the most six inches away from the new "state of the art" riverside seats), fast food litter on the path and the grass verges, plus various other indescribable items, a bright (to say the least) Blue Bridge - which I had hoped was the undercoat for something a little more environmentally sensitive - a jetty covered with unsightly debris from the flooding which subsided days ago and the as yet unfinished Millennium Bridge.

This is not a "one-off". I walk along this path most days - flooding permitting - and it is almost always the same. If York wants to be proud of its new bridge, then York will have to clean up its act.

I would suggest to anyone who wants to view the bridge - go by boat, it's more picturesque.

Barbara Jones,

The Croft,

Sheriff Hutton,

York.