Dear Editor, Your article on the thrust to approve construction of unwanted car parking as a defiant gesture against a developing recession was of interest. On the basis of current predictions for car-parking demand, Birmingham City Council would build an expensive car park that, on those predictions, would lose money for a few years. There is, however, no guarantee that the money-losing gimmick would turn to break-even once Britain emerges from the recession that we have only just entered; this may be a country of very different habits by then.
Of course, every interest group in Birmingham could suggest where money could be spent, but if we stick to transport subsidy of this sort, walking is surely the one that merits more. It is walking that forms part of almost every journey and that means people shell out money for transactions in shops and other attractions. The person on foot may have set out on foot, bicycle, car, or public transport.
In Birmingham, facilities to suit walking (and to extend time enjoyed in the streets), are sadly lacking. In many local centres, there are no obviously available public toilets, and the absence of seating is, frankly, wearying. Both of these simple provisions are not provided through lack of funds.
The Post has done us all a favour in exposing the reality of funding by the council, now it is time for individuals to raise the issue with their councillors.
John Davison
Living Streets
livingstreetsbirmingham@btopenworld.com
