Sir, - South Dublin is about to witness a further growth in that most obnoxious of road hazards, the dreaded ramp. The volume of traffic heading into Dublin in the morning is now so great that cars snake through small roads in housing estates which were not designed to take heavy volume traffic. The bizarre solution of the planners is to install ramps in these roads. Ramps were designed to stop speeding, not to deter cars which crawl along "rat runs".
There appears to be no attempt to address the core problem, which is that the existing road network cannot cope with the volumes of cars and that we have a totally inadequate public transport system. The planners stick in their twists, turns, roundabouts and ramps, and wash their hands of the problems that remain, as the volume continues through these roads practically unabated. The residents of these areas suffer most, as they have to traverse these monstrosities every time they drive locally, as well as dealing with traffic.
Until such time as the underlying problem is addressed, could we please be spared these ugly, concrete carbuncles which do little or nothing to solve it? - Yours, etc., Fergal McLoughlin,
Ardagh Close, Blackrock, Co Dublin.