Of course G Heath (SA NOvember 17) is entitled to complain about the complainers in your letters columns, but, in relation to the new ‘pedestrian crossings’ around the new development at Regent Circus, he is missing the point. These are a matter of public safety and their design is a dangerous step backwards in time.

Over the past few decades the number of pedestrians killed or injured on our roads has declined. This is at least partly due to the introduction of ‘defined’ pedestrian crossings. First, there were the Belisha beacons, then the Zebra crossings and, more recently, Zebra crossings controlled by traffic lights.

The present design, originally called ‘shared crossings’ (between vehicles and pedestrians), and now, in the report, apparently called ‘recommended crossing areas’, can only lead to confusion for both parties as to who has right of way.

Of course people should know how to cross the road, as suggested by G Heath, but the reality is that some people in this area of town (particularly after completion of the development) will have been out enjoying themselves and we all know that those who have partaken of alcoholic beverages have a slower reaction time. So these crossings are an accident waiting to happen; the only question is when?

When it does happen (as it inevitably will), no doubt the lawyers will argue as to who is legally responsible – the designer, the developer, the council, the pedestrian or the car driver. However, it will be the driver who will bear the emotional burden – regardless of whether or not it was their fault.

Malcolm Morrison Retired Accident and Orthopaedic Surgeon Prospect Hill Swindon