One could be forgiven for hoping that the roadworks on the Cotter Road between Adelaide Avenue and Lady Denman Drive would improve traffic movement, but this is not the case.
They are building a bicycle path alongside the single-lane road, with the effect that this road will not be widened to two-lane traffic for another several years. Yet traffic build-up happens here right now every day, and the multiple shifts from double-lane to single-lane traffic are positively dangerous. Moreover, traffic levels must increase with the opening up of the Molonglo suburbs of Coombs and Wright in the next year or two as residents from those suburbs drive to South Canberra and beyond. Roads ACT seems to be in denial over the certain increases in traffic from Coombs and Wright and their impact on existing infrastructure. Residents of these new suburbs will drive to the nearest major shops, Cooleman Court, to find that Roads ACT has reduced part of Streeton Drive to one lane (after being two lanes since its construction 30 years ago).
In place of the second car lane, Roads ACT painted a 200m bicycle path on the dual-lane carriageway, even though there are no cyclists riding here, and no links to any other bike path. You can admire their artistry, but not their traffic engineering. Roads ACT is also constructing an off-road bicycle path between Dixon Drive and West Cotter Road. This may be fine for cyclists, but why are the needs of driving residents ignored?
No increases in road capacity are planned for areas adjacent to the Molonglo development until years after the development occurs.
Can I suggest Roads ACT be renamed Bike Paths ACT?
Trevor Wilson, Holder
Not me, Guv
Your report on the place of residence of drink drivers (''Kambah motorists caught out'', July 17, p3) is an unwarranted slur on residents of Kambah. The fundamental flaw in the report is that the figures purporting to match numbers of convicted drivers with place of residence, Civic and Kambah, takes no account of the arrangements for collection of statistics in Canberra's suburbs.
While we all know roughly where Civic is, it doesn't appear as a suburb for the purposes of the ACT's official population estimates. The nearest I can find is an area called City with a population almost seven times smaller than the suburb of Kambah. When relative populations are therefore taken into account, ''Civic'' has an atrocious record. On the other hand, Kambah's record does not deserve a headline such as you have used.
E.L. Fisher, Kambah
There may be several reasons why Kambah had the second-highest incidence of drink-driving offences but the primary one is likely that Kambah is the Canberra suburb with by far the highest population. Over 16,000 people live in Kambah, its closest rival being Ngunnawal at around 9500. Why ''residents of Civic'' (putative ''City'' population less than 1000) have the highest incidence of offences needs some other explanation. In the meantime, you might like to give Kambah a break.
Ed Highley, Kambah NCA's standards
The National Capital Authority objects to high-rise buildings on Kingston Foreshores (''Foreshore height debate on again'', July 14, p3) but promotes and supports high-rise buildings above their own designated height limits in the Barton area adjacent to the Parliamentary Triangle. Heights ''above mature trees canopy'' is okay if NCA is in charge.
Gary Petherbridge, Barton
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