Recently, I saw Mike Freer on television bemoaning the fact that no Crossrail money is likely to come to Barnet and that we shouldn't have to contribute towards the costs.

Now, I'm no geography expert, but I don't think Crossrail was ever planned to go via Barnet, but it will end up affecting the whole of London.

Not that Barnet has much of a record for spending money on transport other than the four or more wheeled variety.

Not so long ago, Transport for London had to ask Barnet for the return of thousands of unspent pounds that had been allocated for cycling in the borough.

The council was at a loss to work out how and where to spend it, though no doubt there are a few hundred cyclists in the borough who would have liked to have been asked.

It appears to be easy to fork out huge amounts for things like the Partingdale Lane farce where the actual cost of the road works and signage has been far less than the failed litigation.

Cyclists, though, remain an alien concept and we even hear that cycle parking facilities have been reduced as they would be underused, not that cyclists have ever been consulted on the matter of cycle parking in shopping areas.

We all realise that there are elections on the horizon, but if that's what we are to expect from the leader of the council to score points, he may need to check what's been happening in his own backyard before trying to hoist the flag of Boris Johnson.

Keith Turner
Long Lane, Church End
Finchley