Major public art projects such as the Angel of the North in Gateshead can inspire an area and is undoubtedly a success.

It is situated in an accessible park and people can walk right up to it.

The Colchester elephant, on the other hand, will be situated on a traffic-fumed roundabout which is an unappealing prospect to anyone wanting to take a closer look or simply walk past in healthy environment.

My concern is that the elephant’s proponents get their ideas conflated with actually improving conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.

As a result, the area around the station is likely to remain choked with traffic despite the best intentions of the sculpture.

Many of the walking routes between Colchester station and the town are substandard.

Cycling facilities amount to little more than a few advisory lanes and shared-use paths.

The bus lane at Middlebrough is highly dangerous for non-motorised users.

The foot-cycleway along from the Albert is an undulating and uneven mess.

The major crossing point at Cowdray Avenue needs be upgraded with count down lights and traffic calming measures installed at the entrance to Clarendon Way. The list could go on.

Compare this to other councils.

Leicester refocused the city centre with new cycling and walking routes, Reading opened up an old service tunnel under the railway for public access and Cardiff are developing a cycle superhighway.

Compare this to Colchester where the footway on the eastern side of Station Way is only 1.4 metres wide (1.5 metres is the usual minimum) and it dips down perilously close to the bus lane at one point.

If Colchester really wants to "Fix the Link" and improve this key route, then wider footways, safer crossing points and dedicated cycleways need to be provided as a matter of priority.

Jim Rayner

Reed Walk, Colchester