The Road Lobby in Maidstone

Letter to the KM:

Dear Editor,

I am sure that many of us were humbled by Clare Burtwell's actions to reduce death on our roads, and political parties of all colours should take notice of her pleas. If this many people died each year from other forms of accident, action would have been taken long ago yet, sadly the sanctity of the car is held high by many.

We live in a society that has become completely dependent on cars at the expense of community cohesion, public transport, cycling and walking. We have a road lobby that screams when their freedoms are challenged and we have more roads being promised by LibDems, Tories and Labour alike. Something has to give.

There are far too many cars on our road and they often travel too fast, yet to tackle this we need alternatives to car travel: public transport, safe cycling and walking, local shops and jobs, and strong communities. There are plenty of model towns across Europe and the wider world that provide stunning examples on how to kick the car habit.

With climate change and the price of petrol rising rapidly, alongside the appalling death toll, there has never been a more urgent time to tackle the problems on our roads.

Stuart Jeffery,
Maidstone Green Party
60 Boxley Road
Maidstone
Kent ME14 2TW
07970 436029