THE action of a soldier in the rescue of the road traffic accident victims of the incident in front of the Bilbrough Top development was certainly commendable (Evening Press, April 9).

However, closing the gap at Bilbrough Lane End would have done nothing to help with that particular accident.

The biggest cause of road accidents in this area of the A64 is driver negligence and this is compounded by the criminally inadequate slip road and egress from Bilbrough Top on to the A64. Drivers exiting the Bilbrough Top development must learn to give way to the A64. The acceleration slip road must be lengthened and the foolish curbed ending that forces drivers onto the A64 too early should be removed and replaced with a simple lined hatched area.

Their real solution of course is to immediately close off the Bilbrough Top entry on to the A64.

The elimination of lights at Copmanthorpe will exacerbate the road traffic problem at Colton Lane End. Users of Colton Lane and Bilbrough Top need the pulses of traffic generated by the Copmanthorpe traffic lights for breaks in the streams of traffic so that they can enter on to the A64 westbound.

Whenever there is a blockage on the A64 traffic finds its way through the villages of Colton and Bolton Percy. The lanes to these villages are very narrow, full of blind bends and are especially dangerous. Many strollers use these lanes, although in places there are neither footpaths or verges because they have been eroded by excessive vehicle use.

Highway planning should not merely be about trunk roads. It should also be about byroads. People must be able to walk in safety on these byroads.

Brian Percival,

Springfield House,

Colton,

Tadcaster.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.