Mr Plowman (Letters, February 3) states he has paid handsomely for the privilige of using roads but is not able to because of prohibitive parking charges.

What he does not seem to grasp is it is simply no longer sustainable to allow so many motorists into Brighton city centre (and most other cities across the globe) because there is no longer the capacity to cope with them.

Then there are the health hazards of increased and concentrated pollution and the danger to pedestrians to consider. He also talks about choice. What ost people do not yet realise is, if we want a habitable planet (and it all starts at the individual and local level), we will have to forgo personal preferences about how we travel.

If you have to go to town on four separate ocassions to shop, then tough. We have three children and manage to do not only all our Christmas shopping without a car but all our weekly shopping, too.

We have a family railcard to travel to other parts of the UK and when we want to go on day trips in and around Sussex we buy Saver tickets.

It's a lot less expensive than owning and running a car.

Most importantly, we see it as our responsibility to show our children you can live without a car.

At least we will have a clear conscience when, as adults, they will inevitably have to live with real climate chaos.

-Nicola Gibson, Brighton