It is very easy for Mike Weatherly (Letters, December 8) to rant about Brighton Council having a "war on cars" but I suspect most residents will see through his thinly-veiled attempt to win votes at the next election for the Conservatives.

Mike is affronted he could not park his car for free on The Level to nip in and do a bit of shopping.

Assuming Mike lives locally, which I hope he does as he professes to be the champion of Brighton residents, he could easily take a bus to the Level and back again.

As a long-time resident, I have seen our city become more and more polluted, congested and dangerous due to the increasing number of cars and this is obviously a national issue, not just a local one.

It is very, very easy to cut down on car use if you live in the city.

Buses, taxis, walking and cycling are all good alternative forms of transport and eventually the message will get through to people like Mike that to preserve our city and increase the quality of life for its residents, we cannot continue to let cars dominate.

Of course, some people need cars for essential journeys and we do not want to scare tourists away or treat car owners as the enemy.

However, there has to be a balance. More still needs to be done and schemes such as a decent park and ride are desperately needed.

To suggest cars are the answer is out of date and old-fashioned. Recent figures show many Brighton residents do not own a car, either from choice or out of necessity.

-Pete Gillman, Brighton