YP Letters: Tour de Yorkshire inspiration left me saddle-sore

HAVING had an amazing weekend enjoying the Tour de Yorkshire, I was inspired to get my bike out and go for a spin.

However, I am aghast at the dire state of the main roads in Harrogate, especially Leeds Road (A61) between Harrogate town centre heading south to the BMW dealership at Pannal.

Every single drain trap has potholes which are more akin to craters and are incredibly dangerous for a cycle user. You either have to run the risk of attempting to cycle through these holes or pull out into on coming traffic, risking causing a crash or killing yourself.

Perhaps the authorities concerned should focus their resources on making main roads safe for all rather than pandering to those who live on the town’s most affluent, leafy suburban streets which have just had all their potholes filled in: Fulwith Mill Lane and Cornwall Road to name a few, along with top dressing in the quiet back streets of Bilton.

Given the huge efforts from Welcome to Yorkshire to promote the region as a must-visit venue for cyclists, the lack of provision for cyclists is lacklustre at best.

When cycling from Harrogate south to Leeds along the A61 the only safe, marked cycle lanes are in the city centre of Leeds.

Almost none of the junctions at traffic lights etc have boxes for cyclists and overall the experience was a disappointment and I felt I 
was taking my life in my 
hands.

I hope that the potholes on the stretch of road are remedied as a matter of urgency before someone loses their life.

Anti-frackers demonised

From: Michael Farman, Willow Grove, Beverley.

LORRAINE Allanson (The Yorkshire Post, May 18) seems to have moved from promoting the merits of fracking to demonising the many people who are struggling to oppose it.

Since the world is currently swamped with plastic products, I have no doubt that the protectors at the Kirby Misperton camp, like everyone else today, have had to make use of some. I challenge her to prove that it is possible to do very much these days without using them.

If she were to look around her own home, she would find such products everywhere.

Of course we must make every effort to reduce our dependence on them. But Lorraine makes 
no secret that she supports fracking companies in the knowledge that vast amounts of fracked shale gas would be used to manufacture more and more plastics.

Health fears over spraying

From: Jim Firth, South Gate, Market Weighton.

AS a lifetime resident of rural East Yorkshire you cannot avoid the fact that the countryside air is being consistently polluted by agro-chemicals and land spreading of effluents (including man made in-organic waste).

As soon as the spring sun made its appearance, the sprayers were out in force for the duration, farmers no doubt arguing that these applications are both safe and necessary for crop production, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

Excluding the health risk to country inhabitants and rural leisure groups, what will be the long-term implications on the environment and public health if these contaminating practices are allowed to continue?

A revolution in waste disposal

From: R Spreadbury, Liversedge.

HERE are some ideas to address waste disposal, fly-tipping and littering, which seem to be blighting our area.

Make all waste disposal free. Create a charitable company for litter collection hotspots.

Local councils to take back control of household waste disposal sites from the private companies who now run them, and who ever increasingly restrict what can be accepted at these sites.

A comprehensive school education programme, including visits from the council waste disposal team etc. National curriculum topics could include civic pride and looking after the environment starts at home. Remove all bins from laybys and replace with signage “Please take your litter home. Thanks”.

What are your thoughts?

Police chiefs must speak out

From: Coun Peter Gruen (Lab), Shadwell Lane, Leeds.

DID you see that headline a week or so ago? Cressida Dick, new chief of the Met in London, admits openly and publicly that a lack of resources is one of the main causes for higher crime. Wow, I hear you say, what about stating the obvious! But, we know she is one of the first chief constables to speak up.

Dee Collins, head of West Yorkshire Police, has done likewise, and the area’s crime commisisoner, Mark Burns-Williamson, has said the same for some time. And as an elected representative myself, I share their views.

It is high time that more police chiefs called out the cuts and the inevitable strain on police officers, communities and individual victims of crime. Only a fantasist or Government Minister (or both) believes cuts can go on forever.

Hunt poachers

From: Arthur Quarmby, Mill Moor Road, Meltham.

I SUPPOSE that tightening restrictions on the sale of all ivory in the UK may be of some small help (The Yorkshire Post, May 23). But with poachers killing 20,000 of the animals each year, the only way to save the African elephant from extinction is to hunt down and kill the poachers instead.