HIGHWAYS chiefs have come up with a solution to traffic chaos on a congested town centre street.

Market Street in Westhoughton is in line for work to end the mayhem which has seen bus firms threaten to boycott the town centre to avoid gridlock.

Motorists regularly flout yellow line parking bans to use shops and cash machines, which means vehicles often block the road.

The new scheme will put a strict 24-hour ban on loading and waiting at points in the worst affected areas.

Loading will only be permitted in designated loading bays on Market Street and side streets and a new taxi rank will be sited on Queen Street.

It is hoped the scheme will bring an end to the problems suffered by motorists and traders on the street since the road was narrowed and speed humps installed in 1998.

The new regulations will also supplement a residents only parking scheme in force on Wood Street, Marsden Street and Edward Street.

Cllr Arthur Price said: "It will work but only if we get the enforcement we need to make it work. Since the powers of parking enforcement have been taken away from the police, we need someone here every day to keep their eye on it permanently."

Cllr Price also said mistakes had been made in 1998 when the scheme to alter Market Street, following the opening of Cricketer's Way, was devised.

"The biggest car park in Westhoughton at the moment is on Market Street," he added. "You can see cars parked there for an hour at times."

The scheme won the backing of town councillors and will now go before chiefs at Bolton Town Hall for a final decision. If it is approved work could begin later this year.