Defeatist view on cars

Kerry Prendergast makes a few good points in her comments on the LGWM plans (Squeakiest wheels aren’t the ones to get our city moving, Nov 27), but others that are off the mark.

Of course we need a more frequent bus service – and a free one would be even better – but her claim that 80 per cent of people will remain in their cars in any case is just defeatist.

Prendergast also fails to conceal her hostility to cycling and cyclists, claiming that they just have very loud voices and it is ‘‘ordinary residents’’ who should be listened to, as if cyclists are not also ordinary residents.

As one can see in many European cities, a well-planned cycling network will bring tens of thousands of cyclists on to the city’s streets. That, and a much

improved public transport network, is what Wellington needs.

If we just replace today’s private petrol and diesel cars with electric and autonomous cars, then the traffic jams will be just as bad (or worse with a bigger population) than today’s. If we want a liveable city in future, it cannot continue to be dominated by individual motor traffic, however that traffic is powered. Laurence Harger, Seatoun