MR JOHN G Taylor, the prospective Conservative county council candidate (Letters, January 25) is to be applauded for his position on the Whitchurch Rural Gateway and he is right that improvements to Pixon Lane might help to reduce traffic in Whitchurch Road.

There are problems with Pixon Lane, however. Any improvement to the width of the turn at the top end would increase the steepness into the turn, already uncomfortable, because the Whitchurch Road rises quite quickly from the turn.

The top end of Pixon Lane would need to be widened which would involve removing that big stone wall, digging out some 40 feet of soil? stone? and replacing the wall.

In the long term the Inner Relief Road is intended to go through Abbey Rise and down over the Riverside car park to the lower end of Pixon Lane. County has a map showing this.

In the short term the removal of roadside parking in Pixon Lane would greatly improve it for traffic and might well help reduce that in Whitchurch Road.

A R Cole

17 Deer Park Crescent

Tavistock

I HAVE been reading with interest, for some time now, the various letters concerning the so-called rural gateway on the Whitchurch to Horrabridge road.

For five years I walked along this road between, two and five times per week, from Grenofen to Whitchurch or Tavistock, and back again, pushing either a pram or pushchair.

The straight stretch of road at the top had verges either side and both myself and my children were clearly visible to traffic coming from both directions.

However, at either end of this stretch the road drops down and curves, with no verges, making visibility very poor and potentially dangerous for anyone walking or cycling.

I now see that paths have been laid for the walker along the straight stretch but these paths finish where the road drops down and curves at either end. Where does the walker go from there?

How, I wonder, does any planner or council committee member consider that this now makes it safer for the cyclist or walker, particularly when pushing a pram or pushchair? Perhaps we have some closet star trekkers amongst our council and it's a case of 'beam me up, Scottie' when we get to the end of the path.

In addition to this, there are times when the main road is closed and all traffic is rerouted along the back road. Have our planners and council members noticed that when this does happen their rural gateway cannot cope with the traffic?

It does not appear to me to have been built with the intention of being safer for the walker or cyclist, is certainly not helpful for traffic, is unattractive and, no doubt, cost us the rate payers. I would be interested to know who was to benefit from this design.

Joan Bird

Grenofen