I WAS wondering as I struggled past a bus in Longsands Road, St Neots, the other day whether the council is going to charge the drivers of thoughtlessly parked commuter cars for the damage to the grass verges and paths caused by their abandoned vehicles?

I WAS wondering as I struggled past a bus in Longsands Road, St Neots, the other day whether the council is going to charge the drivers of thoughtlessly parked commuter cars for the damage to the grass verges and paths caused by their abandoned vehicles?

Don't hold you're breath. They won't do that. We will have to pay through our rates again, and our children and we will still be at risk. But here's is a more positive, though not ideal, idea. How about taking out the grass verges and making them into off-road parking areas, freeing up the road so the drivers can concentrate on their driving rather than dodging round other vehicles? This could even be charged for, offsetting some of the cost of giving this service. Plus, we wouldn't have to pay for the grass to be repaired and cut.

This is more than Cambridgeshire County Council can do for the little-used cycleways they have put in to try to get the people of St Neots area to get on their bikes. People do not want to come out of their nice warm houses on a cold and/or wet morning to ride their bike to the station, just as they won't stand at a cold wet bus stop.

Also, may I remind the planners that the station is being used more and more by people from Cambourne, as it is easier to get to than Cambridge.

It's safe, cheap parking this town needs to make the roads and footpaths safer for the children and residents of this area, not under-used cycleways that cost us a fortune with no cost or safety returns. There was probably more carbon emitted laying these cycleways than will ever be saved by the few that use them.

RICHARD BRAIN, Longsands Road, St Neots