Sir, – Philip O’Neill (Letters, September 7th) is correct that the carbon footprint of cars queueing at traffic lights is huge, but it’s not because of some flaw in the timings of the lights themselves, rather the much more obvious reason that it’s because there are far too many people using their cars in the first place.
Car use for short urban journeys in Ireland has increased hugely in recent years, and rather than pursuing the seductive delusion that this can be fixed by “better” traffic lights or more roads, all the evidence shows that taking active measures to remove cars from roads is the best way to achieve both better environmental outcomes and a reduction in traffic for those who really need cars. – Yours, etc,
DAVE MATHIESON,
Salthill,
Galway.
Sir, – If Robert Towers (Letters, September 3rd) feels aggravated at having to wait in his car at what he feels are long traffic light sequences in Dublin, then he should definitely avoid walking. Trying to navigate diagonally across a busy crossroads usually requires two long waits for the pedestrian light, or four waiting periods if there are traffic islands. And if the local authority has added slip-roads, you could be waiting a long, long time to get anywhere! – Yours, etc,
BRIAN McARDLE,
Leixlip,
Co Kildare.