TRAFFIC choked town and city centres have proved a living nightmare for planners throughout Britain and Blackburn is no exception.

But there appeared to be a glimmer of hope when Blackburn with Darwen Council came up with proposals for a park-and-ride scheme which would see motorists leave their vehicles on massive car parks in the Whitebirk area and take buses into the town centre.

Fortunately, the council had the foresight to call in a team of consultants.

Its report reveals that the problem is far more complicated than at first thought.

The consultants found that the majority of motorists driving into Blackburn did not work in the town centre.

Many were employed by companies which formed the outer ring of a "doughnut" around the centre.

The survey puts all the more weight on the argument for an inner ring road which would relieve the dreadful chaos in the town centre and also serve motorists wanting to get to their work at companies on the periphery.

Blackburn with Darwen Council was absolutely right to commission the survey.

If councillors had approved a multi-million pound scheme which resulted in a procession of empty park-and-ride buses arriving in the town centre they would have been castigated.

Town traffic congestion is a dilemma. Motorists have become accustomed to the flexibility of the car. Many are no longer prepared to tolerate the set routes of public transport which may force them to walk 500 yards to their destinations.

Blackburn with Darwen Council took corporal Jones's advice: "Don't panic."

But the problem will not go away and will have to be solved sooner rather than later.

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