COUNCILLORS and community members have praised a successful pilot scheme to minimise traffic disruption caused by Eid festivities.

Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire Constabulary operated a pilot park and ride scheme for Eid visitors to Blackburn’s Pleasington Cemetery during the celebrations.

The park and ride scheme was devised in response to concerns about the 2012 Eid celebrations, when the volume of cars was too much for the cemetery’s roads to cope with.

The Muslim community has a tradition of visiting the cemetery on Eid to pay their respects, and the objective of the pilot scheme was to minimise disruption for other users, and to make Eid visits to the cemetery as peaceful and safe as possible.

Police and marshals directed cars to designated areas in Pleasington, off Tower Road, and buses ran every five minutes, picking up and dropping off thousands of visitors at the pavilion at Pleasington.

Coun Shaukat Hussain said: “We are really pleased with how this park and ride has gone. It was a pilot initiative to test how something like this can help all communities.

“It is a joint initiative and the Muslim community has made a financial contribution towards it.

“We would like to thank all involved for their support and co-operation. Many colleagues, including councillors, police and community members volunteered to help marshal.

“I saw first hand how effective it was. We now want to work with all our communities to make this sustainable.”

Sayyed Osman, director of environment, housing and neighbourhoods, said: “The council and partners want to work with all sections of our communities to improve and maintain the best quality of life. We are pleased the Muslim community has shown real understanding.”