MARK Smith's article relating to the M8 through the heart of Glasgow ("They said the scar would not heal. They were proved right", The Herald, April 10) is timely and should open up the minds of the city council to what is actually needed by way of transport in, around and through Glasgow. But it cannot be considered in isolation.

It seems to me that the use of private cars will slow more and more as those powered by internal combustion engines will reduce and eventually cease. Electric private vehicles have their limitations too and the letter (April 10) by Neil J Bryce explains in no uncertain terms why their use must be carefully considered.

The need to transport people to and from work and for leisure remains. The transport of produce by goods vehicles will adapt and no doubt benefit from the reduction in private transportation over the timescale needed for net zero CO2. To that end surely the aim must be to create a modern public transport system that the population will want to use but right now is only partly there.

The use of buses is one of economic disaster under the private operator system. Over many years fares have increased, leading to reduction in usage. This reduction in usage in turn leads to withdrawal of routes as they are no longer viable and so would-be users buy and use cars. The vicious circle continues.

My point is that before plans are drawn up to deal with the M8 there must be a decision to make a start on the Glasgow Metro system. As is now known, old abandoned railway routes exist and according to expert opinion can be brought back into use relatively quickly at costs that are hopefully still affordable, especially as the rail beds and tunnels do not have to be excavated anew.

Once some routes are reintroduced there will come time to repurpose and repair some aspects of the M8 scar and move Glasgow's transport system into the 21st century at last.

Ian Gray, Croftamie.

Helping the homeless

I OFTEN find much to agree with in Lennie Pennie's columns. So it is disappointing to find her misled about homelessness ("Stop making environments so hostile for the homeless", The Herald, April 8).

A recent report suggested Glasgow has the lowest number of rough sleepers in Europe. You cannot prevent homelessness, because two-thirds of it is caused by relationship breakdown. A civilised society picks up the pieces. And those 9,130 children Ms Pennie calls homeless are actually being helped out of homelessness by the Government. They and their parents are waiting in temporary accommodation and entitled to a permanent home.

There isn't enough temporary accommodation and some of it isn't very good, but most is perfectly decent housing. There would be more and better if 600,000 council houses hadn't been sold under the right to buy. The current Scottish Government has built more council houses per head than any other UK administration. But it will take a long time to make up for the mistakes of the past – and cost a lot of money.

Dr Michael Lloyd, Dunbar.

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We need more social housing

LENNIE Pennie was so right. The key to reducing homelessness lies in funding more social housing, not in wasting money on street architecture that makes life even harder for homeless people, who are among the most vulnerable in our society.

Back in the 1980s, I became homeless for a short time as a result of losing a job that came with accommodation, and it was the most difficult and traumatic time of my life. However, I was fortunate in being offered a small housing association bedsit. It was very basic, but it was a roof over my head and it provided me with a base from which I was able to rebuild my life, eventually finding work in social care and meeting the man who became and remains the love of my life.

I have had the most wonderful life, but I often wonder what would have happened if, because of the lack of social housing, I had become one of the long-term homeless.

Kevin Crowe, Wick.

Read more: We must stop making our communities so hostile to the homeless

Undergrounding is too expensive

I NOTE the reaction from readers (Letters, April 7 & 10) to Rebecca McQuillan’s article on electricity power lines (“There’s no time for another fight over power lines”, The Herald, April 6).

Undergrounding high voltage grid power lines increases costs by at least 10 times compared with overhead transmission lines, and this assumes crossing arable land, not the challenging geology of the Scottish Highlands.

Moreover the civil engineering works (excavation, back-filling, regrading, reinforcement for road, rivers and unstable slopes) involves clearing land between 50 and 100 metres wide. Readers should visualise the construction of a motorway in terms of landscape disturbance.

I sympathise with Ian Moir’s comment (Letters, April 10) about the polluter paying the price; the reality is that he will share the cost in ever-increasing electricity bills. SSE’s shareholders will not open their wallets. It suits Westminster’s wealthy right-wing backers to destroy Scotland’s landscape in collusion with a naïve and compliant Holyrood administration. There is no way such wholesale landscape destruction would be tolerated in the wealthy southern shires.

Forget the repeated false mantra that wind energy is cheap. It will become increasingly evident that it is very expensive and utterly destructive in terms of the landscape and environment.

Norman McNab, Killearn.

Salute Sandy Lyle, an all-time great

AT the weekend one of Scotland's greatest-ever sportsmen bowed out at the US Masters. In a typically quiet and unassuming manner Sandy Lyle ended his career as a touring golf professional.

He was a trailblazer who won the biggest tournaments and was recognised by Seve Ballesteros as the most naturally-gifted golfer in the world. However due to his unwillingness to court celebrity he was never feted like many of his contemporaries and was shockingly overlooked to be captain of the European Ryder Cup team.

It is no exaggeration to list Sandy on a level with Jim Clark as all-time greats. His achievements will not be forgotten.

David Stubley, Prestwick.