From Pierre Théron.
HAVING only just survived the adult helmet vote, cyclists now face calls from Deputy Phil Rondel for compulsory bike registration.

Where is this all going to end? The narrowness of the vote is worrying and shows that many members are not serious about us adopting healthier lifestyles.

Cyclists are being deterred, bus fares increased and park and ride schemes have long since been abandoned. Many commuters used to adopt their own informal park and rides, for example in Goose Green car park (then the bus) and Victoria Avenue lay-bys (then walk) when these were free, but now you have to pay (in summer, at least, on Victoria Avenue) so there is no incentive to park out of town – this has been removed by the greed of Transport and Technical Services, who prefer to add to their £12m car park trading account which is obviously a greater priority. Any environmental transport policies we had are being eroded by bureaucracy, greed and indifference. It’s a complete joke.

Why does cycling cause so much comment and political debate on this Island? What exactly is the problem? While this Island is failing to provide adequate protection for employees (JEP, 10 March) which are basic and fundamental human rights, our politicians are banging on about cycling.

All cyclists are doing is using two wheels connected by some bits of metal to get about, without causing any congestion or noise or air pollution and without taking up any precious space on roads or in car parks, yet we are constantly vilified and threatened with endless bureaucracy and red tape.

We should wear helmets, we should be registered, we should have insurance, we should be restricted to cycle lanes, we should (unbelievably) have speedometers – and so it goes on.

Ben Shenton talks about not wanting to shoulder the costs of the occasional head injury as a taxpayer, but he is presumably perfectly happy for all of us to shoulder the ongoing burden of the obesity epidemic which costs him and the rest of us £7.4m a year.

There are lots of us making an environmental effort, even without any assistance from the States. But if cycling is going to be smothered in legislation then I simply won’t bother. I switched from car to bike for my daily commute three years ago but I’m really beginning to wonder why I’m being discouraged.