I FIND it totally crass - but typical of Bury Metro and its councillors - that they will provide a state-of-the-art puffin pedestrian crossing to serve a betting shop and off-licence on Ainsworth Road, Radcliffe, yet refuse to upgrade the dangerous zebra crossing on Bolton Road, Radcliffe.

This crossing is used daily by children attending Cams Lane Primary School and pupils going to Radcliffe High. It is also adjacent to the primary school, a community centre, nursing home and a children's park, all of which can be considered salient points to warrant a pedestrian-controlled crossing, as per DoT guidelines.

Too many drivers choose to ignore this crossing, at times even failing to stop when people are actually crossing the road (ironically, one local councillor learned this the hard way).

In 1995 we got illuminated posts and an anti-skid surface but nothing changed - it just highlights the skid marks now! Unbelievably, at one time Bury Council suggested completely removing the crossing to solve the problem. They admitted driver compliance was a concern but buried their heads in the Tarmac and stated that it was a police enforcement matter.

This problem could be eradicated overnight with a pedestrian-controlled crossing. It would also introduce a much-needed traffic calming measure to a very busy road. It would not have to be built from scratch because the electrics are already there.

So Bury Council, Radcliffe Area Board and councillors, instead of monuments in the shape of stone slabs and rusty nails could we have a monument to common sense in the form of a pelican or, better still, a puffin pedestrian-controlled crossing on Bolton Road before someone gets seriously injured or killed.

A. WADDINGTON

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.