Sir – Headington motorist Mr Matheson describes views other than his own (letter, September 17) opposing trial Latimer Road and Lime Walk closures as “selfish arrogance in the extreme”, believing these side roads are resisting their due share of the city’s rat runs. But his language just epitomises the unpleasant extremism shared with environmental diehards on the other side of the track, who, for example, dumped manure in motor-man Jeremy Clarkson’s driveway.

Such ranting and raging from opposing sides, both alive and well in Headington, cloud serious debate about how and why through-traffic increases in residential streets have already been controlled and might need more restraint.

Road narrowings, humps, banned turns and closures have been shared across Oxford for a very long time and “for a reason” (to quote the current 20mph slogan) that a lot of people people actually live, eat and sleep in residential areas. What’s more, no draconian new road closures have been agreed for Headington. The idea has bounced around for ages while Oxfordshire County Council prevaricated on spending the £120k already allocated to further traffic management works here.

When at long last the council said something positive this month, road closures were wrongly announced by protaganists as an agreed solution, setting hares running. There are many alternatives to look at. The rush to judgement highlights the angry clash of opinions in side streets like Latimer Road and Lime Walk, which have wrongly, but by silent official consent, been adopted for city through traffic for years, as much as they have been, for a moment, falsely labelled for closure.

The county council has budgeted for more Headington traffic calming to recognise the special pressures on the local residential community from the London Road and Windmill Road accesses to the A40 and ring road, together with the huge expansion of Oxford hospitals and Oxford Brookes University; expansions benefiting the whole city and beyond its boundaries. We’re at the crossroads. The county needs compromise, not extremism, to go through with it. I don’t fancy going through car wars, ending up in motorised Deadington.

Ken Robertson Headington