Sir, - As one of those who cycles through Dublin every day and leaves the car behind I feel I have to protest at the atrocious condition of the city's road surfaces. Dublin Corporation urges people to cycle into the city while at the same time it provides road surfaces that would not have been out of place at Gallipoli or Ypres c.1916. Cracks, gouges, holes, craters, fissures - we have the lot, with a canyon or two thrown in for good measure. The dollops of tar that follows the roadworks around the city quickly deteriorate into potholes.
Of course, any debris on the roads is quickly swept out of the way of motorists and into the path of cyclists. The Malahide Road was the latest example of this practice. I invite any member of the relevant authorities in the city to actually take a cycle ride across Dublin and see for themselves the dreadful state of disrepair into which the city's streets have fallen. I would be only too glad to act as a guide. - Yours, etc.,
Sean O'Sullivan, River Valley Park, Swords, Co Dublin.