IT seems councillors and their road planning departments imagine that by closing a road which copes with 10,000 vehicles a day, these will vanish into thin air ("Rising bollard anger", March 2).

Don't they realise, as the people of Hopgrove Lane do, that these prohibited vehicles will find an alternative route?

The more roads councillors close the more vehicles will go down those left open until, eventually, every vehicle will have to go down the only accessible road.

Planners and councillors should repeat this mantra 100 times before deliberating: "Closing roads does not make vehicles disappear".

W Elliott,

Kinbrace Road, Hartlepool.

Updated: 09:39 Friday, March 04, 2005