ON February 14, out of sheer frustration caused by the newly constructed bus stop projection at Astley Bridge, I put pen to paper.

Since that day I have been delighted to note that the vast majority of the views expressed by your readers agree that this folly has been the straw that broke the camel's back. Having lived on Blackburn Road for 35 years, I can factually comment on the disproportionate increase of traffic on this road. However, when the road was widened to four lanes at Astley Bridge traffic lights, I and every other road user saw a significant improvement in the flow of traffic, and reduction of traffic build-up at peak times. This has now been totally negated by the construction of this bus stop projection, which incidentally appears to be the only one in Bolton.

However, following Councillor Lever's letter, at least we know who approved and supported this particular folly, and, more importantly, whom we can now lobby to get it removed. Traffic congestion on Blackburn Road can only get worse with the construction of more houses at Eagley etc. In the circumstances, may I suggest that Councillor Harkin listens to the concerns of the many users of Blackburn Road, and takes one small step to improve traffic flow. All he needs to do is take a common sense decision of ordering the removal of this bus stop folly, created and approved by ex-councillors Foster and Murray.

Should Councillor Harkin feel he needs a precedent, look no farther than the slip road at the Dunscar War Memorial, which the council closed off after 80 years' use, and, two years later, re-opened to facilitate traffic flow.

Finally, I appreciate we have one or two councillors who have somewhat unusual views on traffic flow, but I am sure the rest are committed to making common sense decisions to the benefit of the majority of residents of Bolton. So let us see them stand up and be counted.

J F Moorhouse

Blackburn Road

Bolton