I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the proposal to put artwork on College Roundabout.

As a past chairman of Kingston Arts Council I am all in favour of public art but as a retired Fellow of the Institution of Highways and Transportation I am appalled by this particular suggestion.

The greatest cause of deaths and injuries in the UK are road accidents, and one of the principal reasons is that drivers are distracted and not watching what is on the road in front of them.

The thought of erecting anything that would attract attention away from the highway beggars belief!

As it is, the number of jaywalkers in the area of the relief road, most of them students from the college, is quite alarming although I have to admit that this practice seems to be spreading throughout the town centre, particularly in Eden Street.

John McCarthy
Kingston