SIR -- When will the powers-that-be do something? That is my question when I see the reactions to Emma Dibdin's accident in Headley Way, Headington, Oxford (Oxford Mail, November 21).
Emma's mother is told that a crossing on Headley Way cannot be a higher priority because there have been no fatalities.
People have heard this far too often and it reflects the lack of common sense in Government rules. Is it beyond us to predict danger spots?
Headley Way has been earmarked for pedestrian crossings. Excellent news, but we are still waiting. Why? Because of the so-called transport strategy, HAMATS.
This trumpeted solution to traffic nightmares has become part of the problem. It is a by-word for delays longer than the traffic jams that increasingly choke Headington.
HAMATS is a county council project, but the city council does not come out well either.
We should put pressure on the county to act, as my colleague Stephen Tall told the North-East Area Committee. I was amazed that the majority chose to sit on their hands.
Labour's reasoning was two-fold. Firstly, they wanted to wait for consultation next year: as a Liberal, I am all for consulting, but residents could reasonably expect councillors to have formed views by now.
Secondly, they expressed distrust in the county council -- how depressing. If councils snipe at one another, they will become as impotent as Westminster would like us to be. Residents deserve better.
DAVID RUNDLE (Cllr)
Headington Ward
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