Sir, – Skidding and sliding on Santiago Calatrava’s James Joyce Bridge, Frank McNally did not catch what an Italian tourist said to him while pointing at the translucent glass walkway (An Irishman’s Diary, March 1st). He may have observed that hospitals in Venice were kept busy by the slips, trips and stumbles on the Spanish architect’s bridge over the Grand Canal, until its tempered-glass treads were replaced by pedestrian-friendly stone. The slipperiness of Calatrava’s trademark glass surfaces should not have been a surprise. The entire walkway of his earlier Zubizuri Bridge in Bilbao eventually had to be covered with a non-slip plastic carpet to reduce injuries. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.