Letter: Cars: how to combat road congestion

Sir: The Government's willingness to consider restricting vehicular access on the most congested parts of the trunk road network to strategic traffic ("Drivers face car ban on busy M-ways", 15 August), highlights the increasing concern about the relentless rise in traffic levels.

In Edinburgh we are allocating road space away from private cars, which have an average occupancy of 1.2, and giving it to modes of transport which use space more efficiently. This month saw the implementation of the first Greenways - intensive bus priority and traffic management measures on radial roads.

Restricting access to motorways could simply divert traffic on to already congested local roads. To avoid this the Government is right to be considering direct charging for road use.

Councillor DAVID BEGG

Convenor of Transportation

Edinburgh