Recent letters tell of neglected green spaces old and new.

This must dishearten council workers with a genuine concern for the environment and who work hard to protect it, against the council grain.

Dundee (particularly Stobswell/ Maryfield) abounds with schemes to boost our mental well-being and environmental awareness. My last pond visit left me depressed.

Short-term, box-ticking projects cannot alone remedy the decline caused by sustained lack of efficient maintenance by those employed to do so.

One scheme asks what small steps we could take for a better environment. We all have a part to play, but if the council played theirs, it would be a massive step towards a healthier environment and happier citizens. — Mrs Swan.

They do not have to live with 12 buses an hour, battering past their window empty, from 6am to 9pm. That is 180 buses a day.

And can I stress — they are all empty.

And as for the person going on about the speed bumps, they are designed to be narrow enough for bus wheels to miss. They do not slow buses down. — Mr James, St. Martin Drive.

They should spare a thought for residents of Craigiebank, Broughty Ferry and Barnhill, who were all served by at least three of the following services: 7/8, 8x, 9x and 9/10/11/12.

Now, all the passengers who previously used those routes are expected to make do with just two, the 5A and 5B, which run at the same frequency as the old 9x route.

The result? Passengers who were previously spread over four services are attempting to board one. It’s been bordering on chaos at rush hour.

While I can understand the rationale for changing the services, wouldn’t it have made more sense to increase the 5A/5B frequency at peak times, meaning that if one bus is starting to get full, there isn’t too long a wait until the next one? — Craigiebank Bus User.

Or even up to three in the space of a minute, as has been the case? Or are their children wakened by the noise from 6am?

Everyone living here until now has managed with the previously sensible route to the terminus at the bottom of Craigowl estate.

Again, I emphasise that every bus is empty, so it seems a waste of money, as well as unnecessary noise and environmental pollution, to continue this extended service.

And yes, it is a danger, more so than the cars, for the children who play here.

I just wonder how those unaffected by the buses will feel if the development is extended again and the bus runs right past their door, or even stops outside it. — Craigowl Resident.

As a disabled driver displaying a blue disabled badge, I am entitled, as is anyone displaying a blue badge, to travel up Commercial Street and over the pedestrian area between certain times of the day and all day Sunday.

I can’t walk very far without severe discomfort and that’s why I have the badge.

But some taxi drivers and pedestrians think they are the only ones with access to this area.

So, please read the sign before you start blasting your horns and shouting abuse.

You never know: you might be disabled one day. — Bmc.

Head of Transportation for Dundee, Mr Neil Gellatly, tells us that use of the taxi card has more than doubled since 1996 but he does not mention any of the costs involved.

If my memory serves, when the scheme started, users paid £1 towards the fare, and they now pay half. The average taxi fare is now £5 for a short run and I am told taxi fares in Dundee are nearly double those in Glasgow. Why is this? And the Dundee taxi card is restricted to so many a year. So, how many, pray tell me?

What happens to the old or disabled person who wants to get from Perth Road to Lochee and beyond after 2.30pm during the week or on a Sunday since Travel Dundee have decided there will be no buses?

And if Mr Gellatly thinks buses are now easier for the elderly and disabled to use, he wants to try getting on and off one. — Dundee Reader.

I have to ask, why?

At the last Scottish Parliament election, there was confusion because the voting systems were totally new to this country and people were being asked to vote for each candidate in preference using numbers and not the usual X.

A referendum would just ask people if they support the use of AV voting system yes or no. They would put an X at their choice.

Does the SNP really think the people of our country are so stupid that we cannot put a simple X in a box at the same time as we vote for an MSP?

If the elections are held on the same day, it would save millions of pounds, and that makes good economic sense. — Allan Petrie, Dundee.