I AM a resident on a street inside the city walls, close to Victoria Bar.

Last weekend, for reasons that aren't clear, the newly-installed moving bollard system was not in operation, with the bollards permanently down.

Despite it being a busy holiday weekend, the area around my street was as delightfully peaceful and as devoid of traffic as it always has been.

This shows that as well as being a time-consuming irritant to residents who do need to pass through Victoria Bar, there is no need for such an expensive and ugly deterrent, because there is no passing traffic to deter.

Greg Halfpenny,

Hampden Street,

York.

Updated: 10:33 Thursday, April 24, 2003