REGARDING Frank Brunner's letter (November 13), it certainly would be better if roads and vehicles were less over-engineered generally, to match the character of most of our roads as general-purpose public highways.

The limitations of traffic-calming are not a reason for not using it at all. Frustration is due to over-engineered vehicles and the solution is to have governors to limit speeds internally, preferably, in the long run, by external beacons which would allow variable maxima according to the conditions.

Speeding-up after calmed areas is irresponsible, but is less bad than excessive speeds right across the whole town.

Fatalities and accidents to people on foot and cyclists occur in urban areas because that is where conflict is at its greatest, not because of lower speeds.

Buses are impeded more by the sheer plethora of vehicles than by traffic-calming. A more efficient and economical use of inherently limited roadspace would be more bus lanes.

We have one of the worst records for child pedestrian accidents in Europe. Not only do children who are directly harmed suffer, but also the much larger number who are not allowed independent mobility or social interaction with other children away from adults.

Children too young to walk to school alone could do so in organised, supervised parties, not necessarily taken by car.

Buckinghamshire County Council has a commendable policy of Safer Routes to School and I hope an integrated transport policy in the future creates a less dangerous, less vehicle-dominated highway system for both children and adults.

Perhaps people could also study the 1992 report of the (then) Department of Transport: Killing Speed and Saving Lives.

I hope a Wycombe-Bourne End-Maidenhead rail or light-rail link comes about with an integrated transport policy and local transport plans.

Financial, and therefore political, problems in the past have made such a link difficult as there would be no revenue to support a commercial investment while trains or trams have to compete with free roadspace and with a policy of building more roads to ease the pressure on existing roads.

The planning system has been under great strain to try to bridge the gap between transport economies and transport finances. There has been no mechanism to fund a public transport infra- structure.

I have long argued for the Wycombe-Bourne End formation to be retained, in the hope that a rail structure would eventually return.

It is sad that, when we are being urged to use cars less, the journey to (say) Reading or Birmingham is slower and less convenient by public transport than it was a hundred years ago!

I am all in favour of preserving woodlands, and preferably without ants in picnic areas.

Jim Whitehead

Belmont Road

Chesham

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.