Sir – I risked my sanity sitting through the meeting of Oxfordshire County Council that decided on the siting of the zebra crossing in Bridge Street, Witney.

Last week, the council declared that the crossing is to be on the Windrush bridge itself.

The main justification presented for this location is that councillor Richard Langridge – who did not attend the meeting – wants it there.

There is general agreement that Bridge Street desperately needs a crossing, and that its location should not disadvantage Bridge Street residents and businesses. They already suffer enough from pollution, flood and relentless traffic. The problem is as clear as councillor Langridge’s solution is daft.

Why construct a zebra crossing 300 yards from where people dice with death to cross the road, at the one place where a traffic island already makes crossing Bridge Street relatively safe, and just 50 yards from the existing pedestrian crossing at the traffic lights in High Street?

Who is to use Langridge Folly when homes and the route to town and the shops are nearly all on the same side of the road? To be sure, the crossing will do little harm, but it is a waste of the public money allocated for a Bridge Street crossing.

I (and a good few others, it would seem) have asked councillor Langridge to explain the logic of this location. He is uncharacteristically silent. Perhaps your pages might offer councillor Langridge the opportunity to tell us how his crossing will solve the problems of Bridge Street?

Stuart Macdonald
Green Party