Sir, - Hooray for Frank McDonald and his excellent article about the LUAS bashers real agenda (August 16th). He has at last exposed the fact that it is the car lobby who bare behind the plans to send the LUAS underground. The intention is obviously to scupper the project, or at worst to get it out of the way.
However, I would go further and suggest that if the underground proposals are to be taken seriously, then surely it would make much more sense to send the cars underground. At first this may seem like a ludicrous proposal, but on closer examination it makes sense.
The cost of building road tunnels would be vastly cheaper, as they would only need to be built where bottleknecks with LUAS are likely to occur. In these areas (most of them shopping areas) the reductions in air pollution, noise pollution and road rage would greatly increase their attraction to shoppers.
Remember, trams predate cars and will undoubtedly outlast them, too. They have every right to the very small portion of road space that they demand. - Balally Avenue,
Dundrum,
Dublin 14.