I am writing in response to the ongoing farce which is the construction of the Hereford bypass or, more accurately, the lack of.

I really believe that the January 22 decision will be the last opportunity to provide a workable solution to the ongoing issues with traffic congestion through the spine of this wonderful city.

I was born 60 years ago in the house I still live in which is located alongside the A49 within the city limits.

I have seen the road develop over the decades and I now believe it cannot be adjusted or improved to accommodate today’s traffic.

In 1966 someone had a vision to provide an alternative river crossing to alleviate the impact on the ancient ‘old’ bridge.

Along with the Greyfriars Bridge, a highway was constructed to accommodate the traffic levels of that time, i.e. the current A49 trunk road.

What we need now is for someone to have a similar vision.

We need commitment from the council to approve a bypass which allows traffic to travel from North to South and vice versa and stop wasting money with further studies about something which is in plain sight, or would be if they opened their eyes.

I cannot believe that a city such as Hereford continues to rely on a trunk road with a single river crossing.

We are all aware of the chaos caused if any part of the A49 is partially or fully blocked within the city limits.

It doesn’t take much for this chaos to occur, a single vehicle breakdown closing one lane will do it.

This city is a joke to those who consider either visiting or travelling through – I have heard people in other areas of the country say that they do everything they can to avoid Hereford solely because of the traffic congestion.

I am not so naive as to believe a bypass will 100% resolve the issues this city has with traffic but a bypass will go a long way to alleviating the volume of vehicles on the current highway.

This could be followed by other potential ‘Green Themed’ ideas once space is created within the city limits.

These need to go hand in hand and with effective planning could be achieved.

We need alternative routes to both allow for traffic to pass through the county but to also have an opportunity for traffic to get to other areas of the city in a timely manner without having to sit in traffic and subsequently pollute the air in the city.

Not everybody wants to or can ride a bicycle or walk from one side of the city to the other.

With an alternative route, our emergency services would have an opportunity to reduce response times and potentially save lives.

Believe me I see this every single day past my window. The bypass is the first step.

I understand the conservationists’ point of view, but with some thought, affected areas could be replaced and potentially improved via appropriate planting and access provision.

The powers that be need to listen to the people and get it built, stop avoiding the obvious and do something for the taxpayers of this city.

Martin Dillon

Ross Road, Hereford

Let us know what you think. Send your comments to letters@herefordtimes.com