Sir, - John Gilmore's vision (Dr William Reville, June 8th), of a solution to the traffic problem is fascinating and thought provoking; the accompanying statistics (25 million dead in road accidents) are spine-chilling and sobering. His is a fresh and radical approach to attempting to solve the many problems which a car-based transport system produces. However, it is wrong to rely on high-technology solutions to get us out of the mess that is present day traffic madness.
There is another vision of a city where the principal mode of transport is, like Mr Gilmore's vision, clean, safe, non-polluting, energy-efficient and quick. This mode, unlike Mr Gilmore's, is incredibly flexible, remarkably cheap, and best of all, has already been invented. It is the bicycle. There are many health, social, economic and environmental benefits which a move to a more bicycle-centred transport policy would produce. European cities which have facilitated the bicycle as a legitimate form of transport show that traffic-free, bicycle friendly city-centres are not just a pipe dream.
As regards the movement of goods in pipes, this idea may well have some merit. But, should we not also be trying to create a system where goods are not transported extraordinary distances in the first place, but grown or manufactured as near as possible to the final market to eliminate the need for transportation?
I look forward to reading Mr Gilmore's book, but I do hope it will not sideline the greatest personal transportation invention of the late 18th century: the humble bicycle. - Yours, etc., Damien O Tuama,
Secretary, Dublin Cycling Campaign, Dublin 14.