Everyday lives are tied in with the car

Taking up the interesting and informative letter by Paul Humphreys in the Herald of August 24, I wholeheartedly join with the idea of as many people as possible becoming mobile in their own right instead of using a car.

Cycling and Shanks’s pony can only improve general health for all.

However – troublingly – it is so obvious that the everyday lives of very many are neatly tied in with the car to the extent that the school run as well as shopping are regarded as a mainstay.

That, with television and the mobile phone, are part and parcel of everyday life, the result being an existence wrapped up in physical inactivity to such an extent that obesity, in both children and adults is commonly seen.

No longer do we see families walking or riding en masse, as used to be the case many years ago.

Indeed, the habit of being carried in a car has degenerated the activity of using it for the smallest of journeys.

It is fair to accuse our councillors of failing to foresee the impending nuisance and danger caused by the general, habitual use of the motor vehicle, its build-up having relentlessly progressed over the years, and to also accuse them of failing to take any action.

Even worse, it is worrying to note that they have provided forestalling argument to avoid taking up ideas to provide for the cyclist in the most positive way, away from the car with its fumes and inherent danger.

That’s been my own experience constantly over the years with my efforts to promote support for that track through our parkland area from Hampden Park to Eastbourne.

However, in making that point, I have to conclude that, as with Paul Humphrey’s letter so far, local public take-up of such ideas are not generally pursued, allowing for what has so far been a lack of action on the part of those responsible.