THE arrogance of Councillor Roy-E Walker (Your Letters, April 30) beggars belief.

With regard to his criticism of cycle lanes, how does Coun Walker know he represents the "vast majority" of people in the area? Or does he really mean the majority who responded to the In Touch newsletter? I suspect that the number actually represents less than one per cent of the voters of Church Ward.

His assertions regarding cycle lanes are totally illogical and without foundation. How does a cycle lane force motorists to travel at below the legal limit (though it is true that the cycle lanes have the effect of reducing lane width for motorists and therefore limits the opportunity for overtaking)? We can all see that the average speed along Bolton Road is well above 30 mph so any reduction cannot be a bad thing.

The cycles lanes in Bury help to emphasize the safe distance a vehicle should be from a bicycle. The Highway Code recommends "at least as much room as one would give to a car". How often do we see that?

I think Mr. Walker shows his true colours as he jibes at having to wait for a bus for 35 minutes. All the time knowing that any reasonably fit person could cycle to Bolton in that time, and that the cyclist would be travelling pollution free, improving their health, and more alert on reaching their destination. Coun Walker is correct when he "guesses" that few people cycle to work, but does he know or even care why? The benefits are obvious to all - inexpensive, pollution-free, healthy, relieves stress, etc - but the most often quoted reason for not doing so is intimidation by the majority of motorists who travel too fast and too close. The "vast majority" of the population would love to have the choice, and cycle lanes help to provide that choice.

The cycle lanes in Bury are a giant step forward and cycle parking in the town is another improvement. Three cheers for Bury Council. I cycle to Salford on most days and I can assure Coun Walker that the cycle lanes are a major contributor to safety. All that is needed now is more of them, especially on school routes.

The problem with traffic flow on Bolton Road has nothing at all do with cycle lanes and everything to do with the increasing number of cars.

If Coun Walker wants to do something to make Bury safer for ALL then he should campaign for law enforcement on our roads, maybe even a reduction in the speed limit in residential areas. He could campaign to make motorists aware of their responsibilities to the more vulnerable road users like cyclists, horse riders, children, etc.

So let's have less knocking of cycle lanes and a campaign aimed at reducing road death, accidents, noise, intimidation, pollution etc. Perhaps if Coun Walker tried to cycle to work he would better appreciate the problems. May I suggest he gets on his bike (as one of his fellow Conservatives once famously said) on June 16, National Bike to Work Day.

P. J. BILLINGTON,

cyclist, motorist and

Church Ward voter.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.