Abolish the lights

I read with great interest your recent article titled "Traffic lights should be axed, says expert". The writer, Martin Cassini of the Institute of Economics, claims that traffic lights make roads more congested and dangerous.

I have had letters published in the Shropshire Star in recent years maintaining that the main causes of congestion and pollution in Shrewsbury are the traffic light systems around Welsh Bridge and by the bus station in Smithfield Road.

While sitting in the queues on the approach to these lights, observe the long seconds when nothing is moving, resulting in traffic backing up even further.

There is now a likelihood that Shropshire families will be hit by a congestion charge in coming years when the simple measure of replacing the ugly matt black crooked lights with small attractive roundabouts would almost certainly resolve the problem.

Imagine traffic flowing steadily at 15mph at peak times on all approaches to Welsh Bridge. Drivers would be alert because there would be no red lights to encourage them to go into a daze. They would stop momentarily at zebra crossings having made eye contact with a waiting pedestrian, pollution would be minimised as a result of no idling engines. Stationary traffic and delays would be minimal.

Am I wishing for the return of the good old days before too many traffic engineers sat in offices calculating their increased traffic management budget for next year? You bet I am, because it was a lot better than what the future holds.

KW Evans, Shrewsbury