RE the article 'Careless parking alert by fire crews' (BEN, Nov 30).

The firemen most certainly have a point when they say that the fire engines do not have enough room to pass through some of the streets in Bolton.

I have raised this point twice (Letters) with the appropriate council department in the quite recent past, concerning the lack of access for emergency vehicles.

My concern is exactly the same as the firemen's -- lives could be lost because of the extra time it would take to get to the scene of a fire.

Unfortunately, the stock answer is always -- "we have no money available".

I have put forward a request for the pavements on each side of the street to be narrowed, making parking bays, and leaving the centre of the carriageway clear for emergency vehicles.

Unfortunately, in Rawson Road we have two streets lights in the centre of the carriageway that would need to be re-sited.

Because of this, it is quite often the case that cars have been parked three abreast across the carriageway.

We recently had a resident who had to be taken to the top end of the street because the ambulance could not gain access. Fortunately, it was not a life or death situation that time.

The street was made a precinct in 1976 and residents had to park in the back streets until, because of car theft in the area, the police advised residents to park in the front street.

I, along with other residents, have no wish to see the street re-opened to through traffic again but I make no apology for trying to have access for emergency vehicles without penalising the residents.

How can people be expected to take the council seriously when they go out of their way to try to get people to take an interest in their area (Area Forums and the Listening Event) when schemes and ideas that are put forward are knocked back.

I think that the firemen would be better targeting the local community and letting them know what they think. This is a very serious matter that needs serious consideration.

Jack Sinclair

Rawson Road

Secretary, Oxford Road

Residents Association