THE traffic issues in Warrington go back many years and are a catalogue of one mistake after another by the road planners.

They clearly do not understand the traffic flows in the town and make no allowance for things such as the swing bridges, and the fact that Warrington’s roads are the alternative route when there are (frequent) issues on the surrounding motorway network.

There are a few things to bear in mind right from the start:

a) There is no such thing as a ‘rat run’. There are just roads.

b) Parents need to educate their children that cars kill.

c) Drivers need to adhere to the speed limits, and to reduce their speed in densely populated areas even when the speed limit doesn’t require them to do so.

d) Drivers also need to be considerate of their neighbours and pedestrians/wheelchair users etc when they are parking. If you have a drive, use it to its full capacity. If you can’t fit your car on your drive, consider buying a smaller car – your fuel budget will thank you for it, as well as other road users. Few people ‘need’ a 4x4.

All roads should be re-opened – every closed road impedes the flow of traffic and causes a bottleneck somewhere else.

There should be no ‘access only’ or blocked off roads. Just one example: re-open Smith Drive, Withers Avenue, Steel Street and Hilden Road to release the pressure on the surrounding areas.

I am sure there are many other similar unnecessary bottlenecks throughout the town.

Remove traffic lights partway round roundabouts, instead put them on each entry road. Turn each set of lights green one after the other – most of the time, the fact that there is no longer queueing traffic on the roundabout itself means none of the exits will be impeded.

Ensure the sequencing of lights at junctions is correct – traffic exiting Kingsway North at Kingsway Lights became a bottleneck many years ago when the council changed the sequence so that the green filter arrow for traffic turning right onto Manchester Road comes on at the end of the sequence, meaning that the traffic backs up far enough to impede the flow of traffic going straight on to King Edward St, or left towards town. That’s just one example.

If the traffic flowed more freely the levels of pollution might actually drop.

And maybe if drivers weren’t so frustrated at the difficulties in getting from A to B, they would be more tolerant of other road users, all of whom have a right to be there.

Just my thoughts, what do others think?

GLADYS PUGH

Orford