I note that Taunton Area Cycling Campaign (WWN, September 18) is unhappy about the county spending on cycling and bemoans the fact that only £1 in £13 is spent on cycling infrastructure.

I have another interesting statistic pertaining to this. For every 13 billion pounds donated via road tax by motorists, cyclists donate ‘naff all’!

Now, please don’t think I am against cyclists, far from it. Okay, it’s annoying to happen across one of those geriatric Lycra-clad rolling road blocks on the bypass, but I have nothing but admiration for those hardy souls that risk life and limb to navigate the A3080 between Wellington and Taunton in the course of their commute.

I notice there is also a pavement for most of this route but no pedestrians. I would like to think that someone in the county hierarchy might consider converting part of this pavement to a cycle path, purely you will understand, in the interest of safety.

I do appreciate, of course, that there are many other priorities. As an example, I noticed that a couple of years ago large gantry-type structures were being erected on the M5 which were subsequently fitted with large matrix signs giving the price of fuel at the approaching motorway services.

Now, call me old fashioned if you like, but if you buy your fuel on the motorway, you’re going to get ripped off anyway, so, a cardboard sign saying ‘Highway Robbery 1 mile’ would probably suffice. Alternatively, perhaps a ‘Krispy Kreme donut’ price would have attracted greater interest, but, no matter, because all of the signs have now disappeared.

Exactly who thinks up these worthless schemes has been forever a mystery to me, but I suspect the cost of these signs, plus the salary of the idiot that dreamt up the idea in the first place, would pay for a cycle path on the A3080 and that might just save lives, unless that is not a priority, of course?

Graham Hart

Westleigh