Sir, - Unlike David Timoney (May 29th) I welcome the decision by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to close a number of roads to cars in the Blackrock area. As a motorist living on Grove Avenue I am fed up with the huge volume of traffic that use our road as a "rat-run" at rush-hour.
David Timoney objects to the curtailment of his freedom to use public roads, a familiar gripe of the motoring lobby. I am sure that this argument would be lost on the children of the neighbourhood, who have been condemned to a life of constant supervision by parents, justifiably concerned at the dangers posed by traffic. Children are now ferried by car to and from schools, friends' houses, sports practice etc., in a self-perpetuating cycle of car chaos.
When I was nine years old I thought I enjoyed a certain freedom to wander the streets, until a friend was killed in a hit-and-run incident. Almost 20 years later the situation on our roads has considerably worsened, with the increases in car numbers. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council is to be commended in its attempt to ensure the enhanced "freedom" of all its residents and not just the motorists. - Yours, etc., Dara Carroll.
Blackrock, Co Dublin.