THE enforced closure of Bondgate Tower this week has at least proved one thing.
The sooner the ancient monument is shut to traffic the better.
Rarely have motorists had it so easy! Those wretched queues stretching along Bondgate Without and South Road have been non-existent since they discovered the underground water leak tha
t meant the road on the other side of worst traffic-calming measure in the world had to be dug up and the Tower closed.
Cars, lorries and buses have moved smoothly all day long with barely a raised eyebrow, not the clenched fists and creative salutes that accompany the usual stream of vehicles heading into town.
It was the erstwhile long-standing councillor Hugh Phillipson who suggested a one-way system and was much lambasted for it.
This week's unexpected experiment has just gone to show that he spoke sense.
But I would go one stage further than having traffic flowing through the Tower in one direction only – I would shut the damn thing!
I would pedestrianise Bondgate Within, create a café culture and watch the tourists, who are now a vital part of our economy, come and enjoy the old town for what it should be – somewhere to relax, shop, eat and drink in peaceful surroundings, without have to fret about being knocked over by a driver keen to squeeze through the Tower before someone else nips in from the other side.
And for once, Mrs C agrees with me!
