SIR – I refer to the editorial, We need action over traffic woe (May 15). The News had a go at traffic in its editorial on April 26, and said similar things. “Traffic” isn’t our problem. 

The sad fact is the News simply will not confront the fundamental problem – that there are far too many of us, and that we cannot go on chucking up the concrete, and tinkering with our infrastructure to cope with the resulting chaos.

One of its own columnists wrote, “One of these days our elected representatives will perhaps recognise the presence of the elephant in the room…and that’s relentless population growth” (John Phillpott, We’re no good for the environment, May 5).

Do the maths. Worcester has some 42,000 cars. If each car is 15 feet long that’s 120 miles of cars. Worcester doesn’t have 120 miles of major urban roadway.

When the South Worcestershire Destruction plan is complete, Worcester’s (then) 70,000 cars will stretch for almost 200 miles. Look at the chaos in our hospital! 

Urban air pollution is now so bad Europe is going to drag the British Government before the courts. We cannot go on like this. Our infrastructure and environment is collapsing around us all. It cannot cope with our population or pollution.

We don’t have the land resources to build the infrastructure needed by a city of 200,000 plus people. Nor will the government put up the money. Roadworks are a fact of life.
If they jam up our roads now, how on earth will our roads cope with 70,000 cars?

Our population has reached crisis point. Our city cannot cope with another 30,000 houses, and 100,000 plus people!

It’s time those who speak for us, and those who are supposed to represent us got to grips with “…the elephant in the room” – there are too many of us!
N Taylor
Worcester