FURTHER to my letter last week, about the money squandered on cycle lanes and white paint, I think the whole council has now gone back to that other planet where nonsense is the order of the day.
Victoria Road to be closed northbound for four months? Sixteen weeks to repair a stretch of road about half a mile in length? NO-PLEASE-NO.
The council has obviously not seen the queue of traffic in the morning on Beaumont Road, stretching right down to the bridge. At least the left-hand lane keeps moving with the filter into Victoria Road. If this were stopped, only 10 cars at a time, using both lanes, could get out to wait at the second set of lights. Does the council not realise that Victoria Road is a major artery from the motorway to the North East side of Bolton? How are children going to get to school? People get to work? What is going to happen when Bolton Wanderers are playing at home?
No wonder it has prescribed the alternative route as Chorley New Road Chorley Old Road. There are no suitable roads between for heavy traffic. But what about the traffic lights where Chorley New and Old roads conjoin? It can take three sets of light changes to get through in busy periods.
Human nature being what it is, who is going to travel on a four mile detour before attempting to take one of the unsuitable roads to re-join the ring road? How long before lorry drivers find these shorter routes? The chaos and danger when this happens, as it surely will, doesn't bear thinking about.
Has nobody in this illustrious body even thought about an alternative? What about closing the whole stretch for maybe two or three weekends when Bolton Wanderers are playing away? I'm sure that everybody would be quite amenable, if well publicised, to forgo this stretch for a short time, and the cost would surely not be as great as the extra work entailed in doing one carriageway at once, with all the cones and limitation of space involved.
With regard to safety and chaos avoidance, this alternative would win hands down.
The time is right for us citizens to say 'Enough is Enough'. Stop this now while there is still time, and the lives and livelihood of our citizens is not endangered.
Rita M Riding Armadale Road,
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