Letters: Pedestrians should not be treated as an afterthought

News that 16 pedestrian crossings are to be provided or upgraded is welcome (News, November 26).

I sincerely hope that a new crossing on Slateford Road at Hutchison is among them as it has been promised to the community council for many years.

However, I also want to raise an issue brought to my attention: that is the switching off of pedestrian crossing facilities when there are roadworks.

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It seems that it is fine to put temporary lights in to keep traffic moving, but no such luxury is granted to pedestrians.

I have witnessed people having to dart across roads in lulls in traffic – not really an option for some older or disabled people, far less children.

We need to stop treating pedestrians in these kinds of situations as afterthoughts and make sure there are temporary pedestrian facilities as well.

Gavin Corbett, Green Councillor for Fountainbridge - Craiglockhart

ScotRail was only telling it like it is

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I REFER to the article about ScotRail being blasted for telling the truth (News, November 27).

A body on the line is a body on the line. Yes it is a sad event for the body and their relatives. Yet it will cause disruption and I am only too pleased to know the actual cause of a delay rather than a woolly statement that there is disruption.

It is a sad state of affairs when an organisation or any person is criticised for telling the truth.

Bruce Collie, Drum Brae Park, Edinburgh

Differences can incite hate crimes

There is discussion of a worrying number of religiously aggravated criminal charges in Scotland.

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In a country where the monarch swears her Protestantism in Parliament (as the Queen did in 1952), where judges at the start of each legal season celebrate distinct Protestant and Catholic church services and where our schools are divided between Catholic and so-called ‘non-denominational’ schools serviced by Church of Scotland ministers, is it any wonder that some citizens take these differences to be a licence for tribal animosity?

It is religious privilege and its unchallenged involvement in these fundamental institutions of our society which creates division and for some individuals, encourages hate crime.

Any bridging attempt in the form of Scottish government working parties or legislation further to punish offenders is bolting the stable door.

Norman Bonney, Edinburgh Secular Society

Union Flag would fly after yes vote

Trevor Switschew raises the issue of what flag the English will fly on Scottish independence (Letters, November 27). This will of course be the St George’s Cross, as is currently the case, and the Union Flag would remain.

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Scottish independence would see the ending of the Treaty of Union, ratified by the Scottish and English parliaments in 1707. What would remain is the Union of the Crowns of 1603, and the unification of Scotland and England under one monarch through a personal union. In 1604 King James proclaimed himself “King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland”, more than a century before political unification. So, while on Scottish independence the political union would end, the social union with what remains of the UK would remain.

The Union Flag was introduced in 1606 as the “flag of Britain”. On Scottish independence it would therefore remain and there would be no requirement for the Scottish saltire to be extracted from it.

Alex Orr, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh

We’ll sink with no shipyards

Bearing in mind we are living on an island, if David Cameron thinks we can do without shipyards, or coastguards, he is very much mistaken.

CJR Fentiman, Polwarth Gardens, Edinburgh

New bridge will be one too many

THE new Forth crossing should be called “A bridge too far”. I am an HGV driver and use the present bridge daily. Surely it should have been a tunnel for the future? It just takes a strong wind and the bridge is closed to buses and HGVs. Another bridge will only cause more traffic jams when it is windy.

Rob Ramage, Bonnyrigg

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