Letters: Children's safety should not be place to make cuts

The poorly-paid 'lollipop' men and women provide an invaluable service across our city. Each day I cross the junction at Ashley Terrace and Polwarth Terrace and the friendly, courteous yet professional 'lolly' helps ensure that pupils, parents and motorists all navigate this busy junction safely.

The fact there are four sets of traffic lights here in no way diminishes the need for a trained adult guide at peak periods.

To remove our crossing guards would fly in the face of initiatives to increase the numbers walking and cycling to school, and would contradict the safety-driven 20mph speed limit pilot in some areas.

We need to save money, but I trust Transport Convener Gordon Mackenzie will convince his Administration colleagues that it must not be at the expense of the road safety of some of our youngest residents.

Councillor Alison Johnstone, Green Group spokesperson on Education, Children and Families

No need for this costly upgrade

AN article in the News (September 8) said the council is looking into redeveloping Haymarket station to the tune of 100 million to provide a seamless transition between train and tram. Stop it, stop it, stop it! There may well be four million passengers passing through Haymarket per year, however there is a perfectly timed and punctual bus service to take people to wherever they want.

Steve Kilpatrick, Gogarloch Bank, Edinburgh

Trams will come to a halt quickly

ALLAN Alstead reveals his ignorance of public transport when stating that the new trams should be limited to 20mph because they have "the worst stopping distance of any public transport system..." Interactive, September 7).

I prefer to believe Major Charles Holden, formerly of the Railway Inspectorate, who wrote, in relation to trams: "The dual requirement for a high brake-rate and a low jerk-rate is well-nigh impossible to achieve if the brake-rate has to meet the same standard as that for cars. It is doubtful passenger-carrying vehicles ever deploy the full, emergency brake-rate of which they are supposed to be capable; if they did most of the passengers, particularly the standees, would join the driver in his cab."

Note that the preferred braking rate is to be kept down to that of private cars, presumably to stop cars crashing into trams carrying out an emergency stop. Note also his use of the words "supposed to be", in other words he knew of nobody who had tested trams' braking systems to the limit; the limit was too severe.

N Mackenzie, Grange Loan, Edinburgh

Sickening way to treat a human

A FEW days ago I was stopped by a young man in Lothian Road. I could not tell what he was saying. He explained he had cerebral palsy, which affected his speech.

He had just been robbed of a large sum of money. He was trying to get help from people to get his bus fare back to a town in the Borders, which I gave him.

He told me that other people, while refusing to help, had made fun of the way he spoke.

These people should know this is a sickening way to treat another human being. We are all one family.

Next time someone asks for help, look inside and find the love that lives in everyone's heart.

Aruna Baker, Gardner's Crescent, Edinburgh

Prostitutes get too much support

WHY all the sympathy for prostitutes (News, September 6)?

These women choose that way of life. They don't pay tax or National Insurance on their earnings. No doubt many of these sex workers are drawing welfare benefits and because of the nature of their work use the NHS without contributing a penny to the costs.

H Liddell, Hermitage Park, Edinburgh