How, may I ask, can the Glasgow Commission chairwoman Ann McKechin possibly tell the social class of every female cyclist riding past, such that she can so confidently state that no "middle-aged working-class women" ride bicycles into the city ("Glasgow was the UK's most locked-down city but this is what it needs to flourish", Kevin McKenna Interview, The Herald, April 4)?
As it is, labels such as "working-class" are notoriously nebulous, imprecise and emotive, and therefore of questionable value. Snap judgements are often made on the way people speak, but I doubt that Ms McKechin hears cyclists utter many words as they pedal by. And appearance may also be deceptive; assuming she can tell even the age of a rider muffled up against the Scottish weather, not many women in the lower income brackets wear distinctive garb proclaiming the fact, as the days of stereotypes like Hilda Ogden wearing a headscarf over her curlers are long since gone.
For that matter, what evidence has Mr McKenna to justify dismissing cycle provision as only benefitting "the middle-class" (for which, of course, read "undeserving")?
I'm afraid I will take a lot more convincing of those somewhat sweeping assertions. In the meantime, though, public transport should not be pitted against cycling as they suit different journey requirements, and are not restricted to one income-bracket or another.
Jane Ann Liston, St Andrews.
• There is quite a breathtaking level of ignorance and parochialism displayed in the quoted comment by Ann McKechin in the article by Kevin McKenna on Saturday; of course there aren't many middle-aged women cycling in Glasgow, because the infrastructure, while better than when I briefly tried commuting by bicycle in the 1990s, is still in need of significant improvement.
If she could raise her horizons to Rotterdam or even just London she would see plenty of her peers cycling for work or leisure because it's the most convenient way to get around. The return on investment is solid; for every pound spent on cycling several pounds are returned via reduced costs for road maintenance, transport subsidy, health care due to improved mental and physical health; none of which is obtained from subsidising a bus company to run a bus.
David Bradshaw, Kilcreggan.
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Bite the bullet on Glen ferries
Like Colin Allison (Letters, April 4), at first I was critical of the Presiding Officer’s abrupt dismissal of Alex Cole-Hamilton’s request on April 1 to recall Holyrood to discuss the ferry crisis, until I learned that his proposal was just “for an afternoon’s work" , which made me wonder if he was attempting an April Fool’s joke, but apparently not ("Demand for Holyrood recall on ferry crisis", The Herald, April 1).
What on earth did he think could be achieved to resolve this crisis in a few hours at Holyrood which had not been achieved over the past years of discussion there, or was it just a pre-election stunt to grab a headline? In my view there is no quick fix to this overall crisis which can be found in “an afternoon’s work".
As regards the Arran crossing, I suggest it is time to accept that the Glens Sannox and Rosa will never provide an efficient, reliable service. That is because, inexplicably, they were designed to be over-sized, over-complicated with an inefficient duel fuel system, and in operation proved (the Sannox so far and no doubt the Rosa also in due course) to be be overly subject to surprising engineering faults.
The Scottish Government should bite the bullet, stop wasting any further tax pounds on funding these two dripping roasts and instead spend them on new or used ferries of proven, presumably more straightforward, design. In the meantime CalMac would have to stagger on by further renting, as it has done with MV Alfred. All costly in the short term, but economically sensible in the long term, particularly with regard to the Arran economy.
As for the two Glens, if as seems inevitable they couldn’t be flogged off, they would have to be scrapped for whatever value that produced. Perhaps best placed to do that scrapping would be Ferguson Marine due to their familiarity with their design and construction.
Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop.
Council has priorities wrong
Recently Marissa MacWhirter wrote an article about Glasgow potholes ("A pothole could cost a motorist a tyre – but a cyclist their life", The Herald, April 3). Certainly the condition of the roads where we live is bad. Pedestrians and cyclists are particularly at risk from severe injuries.
If a private business allowed such a situation to occur they would be committing a serious offence. Glasgow City Council must start a programme of road and pavement and repair. Unfortunately it appears to be pouring money and effort into projects such George Square and new cycle lanes.
Gwen Marriott, Glasgow.
Beware the stinky tree
I was delighted to learn of the positive transformation of Glasgow’s George Square, and am so pleased to hear that the square will become a green space surrounded by shady trees ("Dozens of cherry and ginkgo trees planted as George Square revamp takes root", The Herald, March 31). However, I was a little surprised at the arboreal eclecticism displayed by the Avenues Project Principal Officer Ciaran Buchanan.
For the square now boasts a perimeter of beautiful cherry and ginkgo saplings. Whilst many readers may be familiar with the cherry, famous for its resplendent pink blossom, the Asian ginkgo is a less familiar visitor to these shores. With its dense yellow leaves it will surely make a pleasant addition to George Square. However, citizens may wish to avoid the area during the autumn months, when the female ginkgo showers the ground in foul-smelling nuts, whose overpowering stench has been likened to that of “vomit, decaying flesh, rancid butter, or dog faeces”. We can of course surmise that Glasgow City Council has planted only male saplings, taking account of this well-known characteristic of the ginkgo tree, and displaying the levels of visionary planning and strategic nous to which we have all become accustomed.
Dr Karen McGregor Richmond, Glasgow.
Arch comment
David Miller (Letters, April 6) comments on unintentionally-amusing BBC subtitles. My all-time favourite of that genre was a reference to the “Arch bitch of Canterbury”. With a woman having recently been appointed to that role for the first time it somehow takes on a whole new meaning.
Robert Menzies, Falkirk.
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