SINCE these controlled parking zone areas have been introduced, it has caused nothing but trouble.

My mother and brother both live in Halstead Street, and they have both paid for parking. My mother and step-father for the car they own, £30, and £20 passes. My brother has also paid £30 for visitors' passes.

It is causing too much of a problem. Residents and people visiting the two churches in Dorset Street should be able to park free. Why should the church-goers use Mule Street or Eagle Street car parks? Would councillors park their vehicles so far away? On foot it would take you 10 minutes to walk to the churches if you are able bodied. Also the car parks they want them to park in are risky. There is drug dealing, drug using and gangs of lads knocking about.

Also, prostitutes are known to hang around near the bottom of Castle Street and the subway at Churchbank. Most meetings are at night after 5.30pm, so why are traffic wardens out at this time?

What do the council want? Why don't they go a step further and charge every resident to park outside their own homes? Residents should not have to pay, they should have passes. Why hasn't Castle Street and Bury Road been zoned?

You get people who work in town parking on these two main roads. It should be residential zoning, not controlled zoning. If parking was free in Bolton town centre, this problem wouldn't have occurred. All the towns surrounding are free parking, or a set fee of £1 or £1.50 for all day. Give the residents their parking spaces back, let the church-goers attend their churches without worrying about a fine. Do councillors pay for parking in town, or do they have passes?

Miss T Ritchie

Halton Street

Bolton