Sir, - Can anybody explain why there is only one cycle lane in Co Kildare, one of the most populous counties in Ireland, and why there are no cycle lanes at all in Naas, Newbridge, Athy, Kildare, Clane or Leixlip?
Why is a whole generation of children expected to grow up without the simple pleasure and great benefit of being able to cycle in safety to school, to the local shop, or to their local sports ground?
Everybody knows that these towns are being strangled by ever-increasing amounts of traffic, caused largely by parents who have no option but to drive their children to and from these places. Of course, it is not just children who are losing out by being deprived of safe cycle lanes. We all know of the physical and environmental benefits of cycling for everybody. Anybody who does cycle in these urban areas does so on the footpaths, and with good reason. Unfortunately, that makes life difficult for pedestrians, especially elderly people.
Please don't let us arrive at a situation where cycling will just be a sport that people watch on TV once a year during the Tour de France. - Yours, etc., Frances Logan,
Woodlands, Naas, Co Kildare.