There appears to be wide agreement that in quiet residential streets, near schools at school times and at particular accident blackspots, roads should be limited to 20mph.

However, the negative effect of a widespread 20mph scheme on main bus routes in Brighton and Hove needs to be looked at.

The scheme could make buses less reliable (significantly discouraging use) until they become so unreliable companies are forced to add extra buses, which in turn will mean higher fares.

Even a three-minute longer journey time on an hourly journey would push already high fares up further.

While the main bus company says it can live with the speed limits, it will be us, the passengers, who pay the higher fares (or face service cuts).

It may be a pure coincidence but the service most affected by the current 20mph speed limit – the service 81 – is seeing its service reduced to every 12 minutes.

Due to faster running times, evening, night, and early morning services would be far more seriously affected by the speed limit – even the bus company has warned there is a risk of services being cut back.

Passengers will also lose out because the worse fuel consumption will increase costs; and bus journey times will become less competitive if motorists can use faster parallel routes.

Cumulatively, this can only undermine bus services and, if this causes car usage to increase, could offset marginal reductions in casualties.

Peter Elvidge, Wish Road, Hove

There is a lot more room for common ground than is being demonstrated in the artificially polarised 20mph speed limit debate. Most people don’t want fast traffic outside their house or putting their family members in greater danger.

Only 37% of people in Brighton and Hove drive to work and 38% of households in Brighton and Hove don’t have a car or a van.

Brighton and Hove City Council is proposing a good, evidence-based transport policy in tune with Government recommendations.

There has been cross-party support for this, so it’s not purely a “Green” issue.

Other councils of all political persuasions are taking similar action on traffic speed.

The City of London voted for a 20mph limit for all its roads and Birmingham is going to give 90% of its roads a 20mph limit. New national guidance has been issued by the Department for Transport.

20mph zones are effective measures for reducing road injuries and deaths. Research published in the BMJ showed that 20mph zones in London have reduced overall road traffic casualties by 42%.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is now revising its approach to the enforcement of 20mph limits.

People from all walks of life and all shades of opinion can see the sense of “20’s plenty”. Let’s support this civilised and sensible approach to traffic.

Becky Reynolds, Bricycles, Brighton and Hove Cycling Campaign