I THINK Mr W Kennedy (Letters, June 1) is mistaken when commenting on my views about traffic-calming on the A666 at Duckworth Street, Darwen.

He is correct in stating that I complained about the length of time it takes to travel to Blackburn.

However, this has nothing to do with the traffic-calming on Duckworth Street, but with the poor phasing and design of the traffic lights and motorway junction, combined with the extraordinary amount of time taken to lay drains on Cravens Brow resulting in the A666 being reduced to one lane for more than five months!

Both of these schemes were not the responsibility of 'someone on the council!'

Mr Kennedy also says that the scheme at Duckworth Street will not prevent accidents. However, that is not the professional opinion of the County Council engineers and the police. Indeed, the County Council has one of the best records in the whole country for accident reduction and prevention.

If other schemes throughout the county have worked, then I'm fairly sure it will work at Duckworth Street!

However, if it is proved that there are more than the 27 injury accidents in the next five years, as there have been over the past five years, then the scheme will have failed.

Unfortunately, unlike other residents of Sunnyhurst Ward, Mr Kennedy has not chosen to contact any of his councillors about the design of the scheme, who is responsible for it, the rationale behind it or the other alternatives considered.

COUNCILLOR DAVE SMITH (Sunnyhurst Ward), Avondale Road, Darwen.

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