I JUST knew a letter similar to the one from Mr D Rhodes of Cliffe would appear very soon ('Is the ministry for silly signs at work on A63?', June 29), so as a long-standing parish councillor at Hemingbrough I should like to make some points clear.

Our parish council and trunk roads contractor Halcrow met because it wanted to hear our views on the improvements to the A63. It soon became clear they could not be swayed from their view that the 'please slow down' and 'thank you for being a careful driver' type of sign was the answer to the fast drivers and accidents on this road.

The parish council was asking for a 40mph speed limit between Cliffe railway bridge and Babthorpe, but this was dismissed because it is a trunk road and road traffic must be allowed to travel at 60mph. Are the really fast drivers supposed to slow down to 60?

Really now Halcrow, do you think drivers are going to drive at 40 or 50mph on a 60mph road? No, your pretty yellow signs are just a waste of money.

Recently, Hemingbrough parish council objected to an application by Thornes Coaches for a new coach base, on a blind bend on this stretch of road, mainly because of the 60 mph speed limit, again we asked for a 40mph limit; but again I doubt if we will be granted our wish.

R Chilvers,

Landing Lane,

Hemingbrough, Selby.

Updated: 10:37 Thursday, July 05, 2001