Letter: Paving the way for pedestrians

Sir: The most effective way of giving pedestrians priority over traffic (Letters, 3 September) is to combine the concepts of road crossing and road hump by paving intersections to the same level and with the same materials as the adjacent pavement.

A local authority having the vision to do this wherever possible, as part of a five- to 10-year strategy, to create a safe, convenient and continuous pedestrian network would enable all its citizens to "reclaim the streets". In particular, children, who are increasingly denied the opportunity of getting about on their own because of parental fears about vehicles driven at unsafe speeds, could have this basic freedom returned to them.

The findings of the recent Policy Studies Institute study Speed Control and Transport Policy suggests that the time loss to drivers on most journeys would be minimal.

Dr MAYER HILLMAN

The Policy Studies Institute

London NW1