Madam, - May I echo the sentiments of Charles Bagwell (December 1st)? Like him, I believe that Ireland needs a transport grid to relieve the pressure on Dublin, rather than the bicycle spokes that we are currently in the process of building.
No two of the main provincial cities in Ireland are linked by a railway (except Belfast and Derry, in Northern Ireland); nor are any of them linked by a motorway. Instead we plan to link these cities with an M1, M3, M4, M6, M7, M8, M9 and M11, all radiating from Dublin.
I think we should consider building (for example) the Cork to Dublin motorway via Waterford, which would be only slightly longer than the current route, and would eliminate the need for separate a M8, M9 and M11.
Likewise, we should be trying to encourage growth along the Cork-Limerick-Galway axis by developing a high-quality transport corridor, which would eventually be extended towards Sligo and Derry, allowing the north, west and south of the country to compete on equal terms with the east. - Yours, etc.,
CONOR COLLINS,
Rochestown Rise,
Cork.