Felicity Chivas (Letters, March 18) calls for the introduction of flashing lights at school zones. While this might have some effect in increasing compliance with school zone speed limits, it treats the symptom, not the cause.
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The strongest influence on driver behaviour is how safe the driver feels, and Canberra's wide, relatively empty and lightly policed roads are designed for high driving speeds.
If we want to make our roads safer then we have to change the roads.
Narrowing traffic lanes to allow for protected bicycle lanes, adding raised crossings and other traffic-calming interventions are well-proven solutions that reduce traffic speeds, leading to greater safety for everyone (including drivers) and lower costs to the community in the long-term.
Mary Taylor, Philip
Gym used for rehabilitation
Further to the article by Lanie Tindale and my letter to the editor (March 22) the YMCA Chifley gym is used for rehabilitation and as such is an integral part of Canberra's medical infrastructure and hence is deserving of government support to keep operating.
Chris Welburn, Deakin
The cool change
The autumn equinox has passed (equal hours of light and dark), so brighter and longer days for the northern hemisphere, which I sincerely hope will improve on the "dark tidings" from Gaza, Israel, Russia, Ukraine and the US we have seen during our summer.
For us in the south, cooler days are ahead and, with the passing of the heat and humidity, better opportunities for sleep and an ability to get things done outdoors.
Garry P Dalrymple, Earlwood, NSW
A call to climate arms
Prominent professor of paleoclimatology Mark Maslin has recently said that we are facing a change in climate 100 times faster than anything in the past 3 million years and probably much longer.
The only climate event that was as fast was the meteorite impact 65 million years ago.
And remember Homo sapiens have only existed for 300,000 years. So why aren't we treating the climate crisis as a major war?
Roderick Holesgrove, Crace
Israel always under attack
Gwenyth Bray (Letters, March 20) suggests a previous writer might be less inclined to support Israel if he had been "alert" to what has happened since Israel was created.
If Ms Bray was alert, she may have noticed that as soon as Israel was created, having accepted the UN partition plan, it was attacked from all sides and within by rejectionist Arab neighbours trying to destroy it.
She would also have noticed that this set a pattern that has continued to this day. Israel has been forced to fight numerous further defensive wars against countries and terror groups determined to destroy it, including the current war.
All Israeli efforts to negotiate a two-state peace with the Palestinians, including by Netanyahu, have been unsuccessful.
Rose Lai, Hawker
Anti-Israel, not anti-Semitic
Owen Reid (letters March 20), the frequent huge rallies in Australia and around the world calling for Israel to stop the massacre and starvation in Gaza are not anti-Semitic.
The Israeli government tries to conflate Israel with Jewish people, but they are not the same. Unfortunately, the ABC has fallen into this trap as well, claiming that the Jewish community in Australia opposed the reinstating of the UNRWA funding.
The Jewish community here does not speak with one voice, there are many Jewish people here and around the world who recognise that UNRWA is essential to the survival of the Palestinians in Gaza. When will the Australian government condemn the genocidal Israeli government - before or after most Gazans are bombed or starved to death by Israel?
Kathryn Kelly, Chifley
War and no peace
The 20th century was the "century of violence". The 21st century is proving to be just more of the same.
M Moore, Bonython
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