I HAD a feeling it would end in tears – and you were all warned in this very column.
The queues and utter traffic chaos at the weekend proved my point several months ago that Alnwick needs more than a single petrol station.
The existing one is not big enough nor is it served by a decent-enough road system to cope.
The day Stan Wi
llis stopped selling petrol prior to his move to Willowburn, leaving a monopoly in the town, was a sad day indeed.
Ever since, queues have gradually been building, along with frustration and anger.
Cars waiting for petrol were backing up onto South Road at the weekend, so anyone wanting to leave the town was delayed.
And because drivers coming off the A1 towards Alnwick were turning right into the garage, they were holding up traffic trying to get into the town. In the worst-case scenario cars will back up to the roundabout and even to the A1.
The road desperately needs to be widened at the service station or at least a filter lane squeezed in to allow a free flow of traffic at that point.
I let drivers cross my path into the garage, knowing it will free up the congestion heading for Alnwick, but very few people have the decency to do the same.
Even when I manage to get anywhere near the pumps, I always land behind the driver who decides to do his or her weekly shop at the same time as filling up at the busiest time of the day.
There should be a law passed in Parliament against it or at least a separate method of paying for petrol.
Anyone with any compassion will buy their fuel first, pull over in the parking bays and then do their shopping.
The situation has actually been made worse by the introduction of Sainsbury's to Alnwick, keeping more shoppers in town rather than losing them to Tesco or Asda (and their associated service stations) further afield.
Mrs Castle's blood pressure suffers every time we have to fill up. She goes a bright shade of crimson as she boils from within and, although the colour looks rather fetching against her greying locks, it cannot be good for her.
The chaos is entirely caused by the lack of choice in the town. I have taken to driving to Amble, where the fuel is cheaper, the hassle is minimal and there are two filling stations. It may mean a trip down the road but the price difference makes it cheaper in the long run.
Either that or I make a clandestine visit to Willowtree Service Station in the middle of the night, joining the boy racers, shift workers and those who can't sleep to top up surreptitiously.
If it is bad now, heaven knows what it will be like in July and August.
Alnwick is big enough for a second filling station – if Amble can sustain two, then Alnwick should be able to as well, especially with all the added passing trade from the A1.
There are enough people with a sharp eye for making a fast buck to spot the gap in this particular market. I urge them to plug it before tempers in the summer queues fray and we have a nasty incident on our hands.
We have been blessed with cycle lanes on South Road, why not go the whole hog and introduce bus lanes as well?
That way, there'll be no room for cars – which would certainly solve the problems at the garage!
