Wonderful care thanks

Sandra Hodgkinson

Sheffield, S5

Caused major disruption

I read the other day that 9,000 miles of aircraft runways were constructed by civil engineers in five years during WWll. That’s an average of 1,800 miles per year.

Fast forward to today and it has taken civil engineers with all their modern technology and machinery about a year to carry out minor road works to move a bus stop 40 metres outside the Asda on Handsworth Road. This has caused major disruption to rush-hour traffic in the process.

Given that the WWll engineers would have built 1,800 miles of runway in the same time I think the polite version of the old saying ‘couldn’t organise a drinking session in a brewery’ applies to our modern day engineers.

The relocated bus stop is still not in use.

P Bellamy

Handsworth

Refreshing change

Andrew Thorpe’s letter... ‘And then my alarm went off...’ (The Star, February 28), and his subsequent letter, were both great!

In fact, I cut them out and kept them.

A refreshing change from devolution and dog muck, important subjects though they may be!

I can confirm that I have encountered all the examples of poor passenger etiquette on the buses that Mr Thorpe spoke of.

What’s more, I can include some additions that I’ve been the recipient of in my long career as a professional passenger.

People screaming into their mobile ‘phones, rowdy adolescents in the back seats, and then, manspreading, that charming male characteristic where they sit with legs akimbo taking up the whole seat, squashing skinny creatures like me into a corner and rendering us well on the way to suffocation.

Then there are those who plonk their bags on the seat when it’s been raining, which is not good news for the next occupant!

As for the drivers, they’re pretty good on the whole, apart from the odd bit of sharp braking when someone’s standing, or one incident when the driver stopped the engine when the traffic lights were on red and dived into the bookies directly outside for a quick flutter.

By the time he returned, the lights were still on red, so no harm done, but still a bit naughty I reckon.

There are the odd structural problems too – creaking, groaning, rattling noises coming from the exhaust.

However, when they do get it right or even half right, the public transport services are a godsend and if everyone got their act together – passengers, drivers and SYT alike, we’d have a magnificent system.

If more people took the bus and left their cars at home, that’d cut down on carbon emissions too, but everyone has to work together and do their bit.

CM Langan

Sheffield, S8

Something I was proud of

Must agree with you Vincent Malone, what planet are these women on who think wolf whistles are a sex crime?

When I was a teenager it happened to me quite often and it was something I was proud of.

No one’s whistled at me for a while, but what do I expect for a young 75-year-old?

Brenda Wilkinson

Lodge Moor, S10

Devo Mayor

Voters in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield will be electing the Devo Mayor May 3, for the Combined Authority of Sheffield City Region.

The Mayoral Election document has now arrived in the post, with inputs from all the candidates as well as details of what the job entails and how to vote.

“Sheffield for Democracy” is hosting an event as part of the Festival of Debate on Tuesday, April 24, when you can meet the candidates and ask them about why they are standing, and what they plan to do if elected.

This is an open meeting, at 7pm, in the Quaker Meeting House on St James Street, adjacent to the Cathedral. It promises to be a lively session, so please join us.

Vicky Seddon

Coordinator, Sheffield for Democracy, (S10)

Catch 22 scenario

Following The Star front page of April 6 I felt an update from me was timely.

I was in a no-win scenario on January 27 about 5.15pm. My usual route via Asline Road had been blocked by police barriers.

I did not feel I could stand still and wait for the police to come and remove them. The traffic outward on London Road was bumper to bumper so I thought a three-point turn on the main road was unsafe and out of the question and not recommended in the highway code or driving manuals, thus leaving the bus lane the only safe route.

However, this came at a price.

As the traffic was so busy I assume the council must have sent a large number of notices out,.

It would be interesting to know how many they sent between say 5pm and 5.30pm that day, made up of football match traffic and Saturday shoppers returning home.

Councillor Scott has had a visit from me at his surgery and is looking into it at present. I hope some of the other drivers caught in this catch 22 scenario will also appeal because the sheer numbers should have told the council this was different from the usual camera shot of one individual trying to be clever or stupid.

Trevor Bishop

Durlstone Crescent, S12

Cut out the duff advice

Authority figures in the NHS are tending to blame patients for its failures. This is a nonsense! They should really be pushing Theresa May into giving more money to the health service.

Patients are being told not to go to their doctors with coughs or headaches, yet everyone knows serious things can start with a cough or a headache. The English are often shy about going to their doctor. They don’t need snide deterrence. So, please cut the duff advice and welcome the patients.

Max Nottingham

Lincoln