I AM a local mother of two children, a girl aged nine years and a boy aged seven, and I am writing about my concerns about the road that I live in. One Sunday my son was playing in the road where we live, when a car taking a short-cut through the estate was in collsion with him while he was on his roller boots.

A few years ago, residents of Park Street complained of traffic using their road as a 'rat-run.' After numerous complaints and letters to local papers, the council eventually acted and put not just one, but several types of road-calming measures in place.

I think that these measures, while solving the problems for Park Street (and maybe causing others) have had a knock-on effect on Holly Road. Many motorists I have spoken to since my son's accident have stated that when faced with a choice of cutting through Holly Road or facing the Park Street obstacle course, Holly Road wins every time. By using our road, motorists can avoid ruining their suspension (because they won't slow down on the bumps if at all possible). There is no constant gear-changing or weaving in and out of parked cars, many of them double-parked and on corners. There are no give-way signs - and cars are often parked at the places where you should give way.

In an ideal world, I would ask the council to close Holly Road completely and make it a child-friendly, pedestrianised, safe area, but I am being realistic when I ask that they consider putting some kind of safety measures in place for our children's sakes before something more serious happens.

If Holly Road had its own traffic-calming methods - i.e. sleeping policemen and road signs that warn road users of potential hazards of children playing in a residential area - we wouldn't be yet another rat-run (to coin a phrase). Also, there would be no benefit in using Holly Road as an easy ride.

My son has been given a second chance and I intend to do my utmost to see that the pain, fear and suffering he has been through has some good come of it. Please, could motorists think carefully before using Holly Road as a short-cut and let our children play in safety.

L. Allen, Haydock.

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