I REFER to your front page article (March 4) and would add my support to the residents of Springhill in calling for some action from Devon County Council to reduce speeding by motorists.

I have recently been in discussion with Paul Marshall about the council?s proposal to remove parking from one side of Glanville Road as I felt that the traffic would be even faster if there were no parked cars to slow it down.

Speaking as a pedestrian, I know that Mr Marshall?s comment ?those exceeding 35mph are few and far between? is absolutely untrue and only a motorist who drives everywhere would have this skewed view of reality. The speed limit is 30mph anyway.

How many pedestrians have to be killed or injured before these speeding ?anomalies? are taken seriously?

Devon County Council has removed the pedestrian crossing opposite the Meadows, making it far less safe for schoolchildren to cross. They are putting in place parking restrictions all over Tavistock to improve traffic flow, ie, to speed it up to satisfy the police, and they have put ridiculous crossing places in the town centre which just confuse people as to who has the right of way. We need more zebra crossings and enforced speed restrictions now.

Why don?t pedestrians count and why don?t council taxpayers? views, unlike their money, get taken into account?

Jackie Eady

12 Glanville Road, Tavistock

REFERENCE your leader ?Speed Cut Call by Hospital? (March 4) I use this road once or twice a week and have been struck by an increase in dangerous parking on the curb, on blind bends and so on. This makes an already tricky road less safe.

I have a deal of sympathy with Mr Bowles? letter on pavement parking. I also have a deal of sympathy with Mr Wilson?s views on speed ? and therefore question whether even more speed restrictions on this road will address the problem. Speed per se does not cause accidents. Inappropriate parking certainly does not help ? let?s deal with that first.

Secondly, I subscribe to Mr Norris? view on the construction and installation of a mini roundabout adjacent to the cemetery ? apart from this being yet another example of profligate spending by the council (there are others).

I note the article on the back page calling for ?safer driving at mini roundabout?. The article quotes traffic warden David Chapple as saying ?it?s all the more important that people do not drive straight across the roundabout ? if anyone is seen doing this action will be taken against them?,

In the first place, one has to question the validity of the design as installed. I?d be interested to see how large lorries avoid driving over the roundabout.

Secondly, I had always thought (and I?ll stand correction) that mini roundabouts are an indication of required direction and that driving over them is not an issue. If I am correct, I would appreciate understanding from Mr Chapple on what basis ?action will be taken? ? which of the many laws affecting the motorist are in play here? Being specific is always better than veiled threats.

Finally, instead of saying that the old T junction had a poor accident record, just how many accidents of what nature occurred there over the last five years? What are the facts?

C D Park

Westlake Farm House, Lifton

MESSSRS Nelson, Ibbett, Norris and Spencer (Letters, March 11) all put their fingers on specific matters which, together with others on which I have previously been a correspondent, show only too clearly the profligate way our money is being wasted on unnecessary roadworks which too often increase the chance of accidents rather than reduce them.

In addition to the one referred to at the junction of Plymouth Road and Brook Lane, the two ridiculous pimples outside the town hall and that at Pixon Lane and Plymouth Road not only cannot be used ?correctly? by a large number of vehicles, but can and do cause confusion, for instance when three vehicles arrive simultaneously and each find themselves required to give way to the one on the right.

Mr Spencer?s comments on arbitrary speed limits are well taken. There is a strong case for removing the 30mph limit altogether? it is virtually impossible to enforce and in practice causes over-attention being paid to the speedometer at the expense of watching the road for other vehicles and pedestrians.

There is another factor that operates: post-Christmas, budgets are being prepared and during February and March we always see a rash of relatively minor works being carried out that are of low or even of no priority, but which prove to be someone-or-other?s pet scheme.

These schemes are often used in a panic to mop up underspent budgets (?get the invoice in by the end of March?) because if a budget is underspent, it will be reduced for the next year. Don?t tell me it doesn?t happen ? I?ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt!

Geoffrey M Stowell

The Laurels, The Down

Bere Alston

REFERENCE the new roundabout: I totally agree with G W J Norris. This design was an accident waiting to happen and, unfortunately for three cars, it did on March 11. I just hope there were no serious injuries.

Every time I use this stretch of road I regularly witness cars and even one incident with a motor cyclist which nearly collided with the vehicle in front of him that was using the roundabout correctly.

Trying to exit from Brook Lane is very dangerous as there is no visibility. It beggars belief how this scheme ever passed the planning stage. A traffic light-controlled T-junction surely would have been a safer option.

Jim Dewdney