Barbican traffic no calmer

A report in Looe Today, (July 16) states that most of the Looe and District Amenities Society thought that the traffic calming measures on Barbican Road were 'working well'. Obviously they do not use the road on a regular basis.

This is a dangerous and ill-conceived scheme, with near-misses taking place almost every day, owing to many drivers, including locals, either not fully understanding who has priority, or trying to race through to avoid giving way to oncoming traffic which has right of way. Surely the objective of any traffic-calming scheme is to reduce speed. When Barbican Road is clear it is possible to drive as fast as one would wish through the chicanes, as is often witnessed.

Judging by the number of County Council workmen employed and the length of time it took them to build this scheme, it must have cost well into six figures. All that was required was a simple raised level scheme, such as that on Fore Street Saltash, which is impossible to drive fast over, does not damage vehicles, and probably costs far less than the Barbican Road scheme.

MIKE JACKMAN

East Looe