From Garnette and George Bowler, Green Party: WHILE agreeing with 'Concerned' about children's dangerous behaviour in a busy local street (Mailbox, October 29), 'Highways are not play areas', we must not ignore the fact that youngsters need to play outdoors. These days most children live in densely populated urban areas and should not be restricted to spend many hours indoors watching the TV. Even the most devoted parents cannot take their children out all the time - even if this was desirable.

Today's children are entitled to the same basic freedom that most of us enjoyed; to play outside their homes, meet their pals and cross the road in safety. Traffic calming measures can help, but what is really needed is a change in attitude giving priority to pedestrians rather than to our cars.

The Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 was passed just before the General Election last May. It was a Private Members' Bill drafted and promoted jointly by the Friends of the Earth, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru.

Unfortunately to get this Bill through quickly this law had to be watered down; but another Bill is now ready by the same alliance to tighten it up. There is much more support this time by a majority of MP's as well as a host of voluntary groups including the national Townswomens Guild and the Federation of Women's Institutes.

The aim of this legislation is not to prevent people from using their cars but to gradually reduce the need to do so by the provision of cheap public transport and better conditions for pedestrians and cyclists . . . in short to put the motor vehicle back in its place as our servant and not our master, so that we do not have to say to your youngsters 'Mind those cars!' but instead to ask drivers to 'Mind our Children'.

Belfield Drive,

Birkenhead

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.