WE may well be moving slowly towards a bypass for Hereford, but, as census data suggests that local, and not through traffic is the prime cause of city gridlock, it will have to be local solutions that will get rid of the daily, time consuming, polluting gridlock that is Hereford.

Even if more people walk, cycle or use public transport, cars will be with us for the foreseeable future, and that means a radical re-shaping of the local road network is essential, getting rid of the bottlenecks, widening roads and railway bridges, and slimming down some of the widest pavements outside London.

Without these basic changes, park and ride for example cannot possibly work efficiently. The arterial roads in Hereford are simply not wide enough to allow bus lanes to be provided, and without this most important facility, the prospect is that the purchase of a park and ride ticket will entitle passengers to sit in the same traffic jams they sat in as car drivers.

Of course the current economic crisis means that discussion is all we will get for years to come, but sooner or later we will have to accept that compulsory purchase orders and demolitions will be necessary if Hereford is to prosper.

I for one would like to hear what the council has in mind for future transport in Hereford. Can we have a response?

GRAHAM CARPENTER,

Leominster, Herefordshire.