We’ve been told of pedestrians refusing to be careful when crossing roads (“Police Urge Pedestrians to Remain Alert After Death,” October 2). As a decent elderly person, always aware of my surroundings, I am stunned by the daily dangers that law-abiding pedestrians face from cars, bikes, and scooters. At my local intersection, cars often light up when pedestrians have the right to cross. Often on footpaths, cyclists fail to sound their horns when approaching pedestrians from behind. Also, cyclists and scooters (not just children) dash on footpaths and put pressure on those who walk. I’ve seen speeding cyclists crossing crowded roads almost onto footpaths and crashing into pedestrians. The term “pedestrian lane” has become a misnomer, and the idea of a “common path” has become a joke. The lion’s share of space will always go to those who drive fast cars, and not to weak humans. The benefits of walking for the elderly are many. But if threats to their safety persist, many will forego this inexpensive health activity.
Caroline Gresh, Dulwich Hill
Your article referred to an important safety issue for pedestrians crossing Sydney’s main roads. We live on the corner of Parramatta Road and Glebe Point Street. We were given about 5 seconds to walk through the four lanes of the Broad Parramatta before the drivers made the turn from Glebe Point Road to get the green light to turn into Parramatta Road. We leave the pavement a second the light turns green, but believe me there is always a scramble to try to get out of the way of turning vehicles that are often (not always) driven by impatient drivers. Lots of pedestrians cross this intersection to go to Victoria Park, the University of Sydney or the public swimming pool. Please give us a reasonable amount of time to cross so that we can avoid a tragedy like the one at Sunflower Drive in Claremont Meadows (“Three pedestrians killed in 24 hours as police urge caution on long weekend,” October 1, where a grandfather was killed On his way home from visiting his grandchildren.
Louis Katz, Gleb
Parramatta no strength
Not only does the new planned museum for Parramatta look like an event center masquerading as a museum (“More Event Center than a Museum: Report,” October 2), it has also adopted a pseudonym and in the process stole a distinct identity. It’s not the Powerhouse Museum. That institution, however weak it may be in the future, still stands proudly at Ultimo.
Phil Rodwell, Redfern
Dangerous sex on TV
Applause to Daisy Turnbull for her thoughts on screen approval rating (“We should know what we agree to watch,” Oct. 2). The most recent example is House of the Dragon, where sexual encounters in sexual encounters transition from one-sided “exercises” to intimate, heart-warming heights. Whether the audience will pick up the director is not a very subtle difference in the various interrelationships, there is a question. It is no exaggeration to suggest that developing young minds who take in these cinematic pairs can leave them with a less than consensual sense of reality.
Steve Dillon, Thyrol
No need to classify consensual or non-consensual sex. Just make movies without sex scenes and let the viewer use their imagination.
Jenny Greenwood, Hunters Hill
Rules can’t be broken
I also attended a Catholic girls’ school in Sydney (Letters, 2 October), in my case during the 1960s. The rules were ample. Athletic height rules and uniforms were also an advantage. Others included: not talking to boys in uniform, not talking in toilets, covering bleached or colored hair with a cloth shower cap (school colors), and not pulling out eyebrows. We never thought about wearing jewelry or makeup. At one point we were asked to carry bricks, yes bricks, from the lower campus up to the top in preparation for the new science block building. However, we knew the rules and no one forced us to go to school. We would not describe our experience in four letter words.
Margaret Wright, Narembern
Albu Tax Hero
Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
No comments:
Post a Comment