David Chalk (‘Ban town parking’ 26th June), agrees with me on the necessity to remove a substantial number of cars from the road.

Read the letter here

However, his defeatist suggestion that we should artificially price cars so highly that only the rich could afford them is absurd.

It’s true that Park and Rides are not being used much.

Dorchester’s was closed long ago through disuse. This could be reversed by restricting street parking to residents only. This would make P&Rs financially attractive and public transport systems would become profitable and its operatives competitive again. Towns would become attractive to visit and the air in them fit to breathe.

Electric cars are proving too expensive for the majority; most people can’t charge them from their homes anyway. Also, they take many times longer to charge than filling them with liquid fuels and their resultant huge electricity demand would require a massive upgrading of our energy grid’s infrastructure.

Regarding my suggestion to limit our use of our cars initially by one day a week increasing that progressively as we adapt to it would if adopted globally, save the planet and our lives.

It actually became necessary in the 1970s when oil imports were being withheld to institute a national 3-day working week and a speed limit on all vehicles simultaneously was introduced to reduce our energy consumption. No uprisings!

David states “No politician of any party would legislate for....

(my suggestion) as they would be too fearful of the public backlash and of losing their seats”. If that’s the case, surely we should get rid of the current incumbents at Westminster and Dorset Council post-haste and put his assumption to the test.

I’m not prepared to sit calmly while useless solutions to climate change are presented by Johnson and his ilk even if he is!

The real problem facing us is a complete lack of responsible leadership coupled with universal greed. The absence of democracy, common sense and basic technical skills in the Tory ‘chumocracy’ is an insult to our intelligence.

Cosying up to wealthy corporations and individuals is not the answer.

MIKE JOSLIN

Garfield Avenue, Dorchester