I TAKE my hat off to Mr Woolley and his plea to the people of York to be patient when traffic lights go wrong (Letters, May 8).

In the good old days when the local bobby was on the beat they used to go to the traffic lights that were out and direct the traffic, keeping the flow going with no large queues and angry motorists.

This idea worked well. Why isn't it like that nowadays?

Is it because they don't train police officers to do traffic control or could it be because they are too busy in the station with paperwork?

Around York, my family likes to play spot the policeman, which helps when we are in traffic jams due to lights being out.

The council would be better off spending money to pay for people to direct traffic, rather than waste York people's money on other ridiculous ideas like the roundabout at old Earswick on the A1237.

Does it not know that the road needs to be dual carriageway with flyovers not roundabouts?

It spent over £1 million on the A19/A1237 roundabout and there are still large queues.

It's about time the council came back to the real world.

M H Reeson,

Barbers Drive,

Copmanthorpe, York.

Updated: 11:11 Wednesday, May 11, 2005