Iin response to your article, Shoppers stay away (Oxford Mail, November 8), I knew the new traffic plan for Abingdon wouldn't work, and so did everyone I spoke to, but Abingdon Town Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council and Oxfordshire County Council bulldozed the scheme through.

What has now happened is exactly what I predicted - more businesses closing down and historic Abingdon soon becoming a ghost town.

What's the point of having wider pavements if there are few pedestrians?

I would have thought that anyone with a modicum of brainpower would realise that narrowing busy roads from two lanes to one lane would make the traffic problem far worse, which it has, and make the traffic jams longer, which it has.

Surely the answer is to smooth the flow of traffic by having fewer obstructions, not more.

Let's have a vote.

All those in favour of returning Abingdon's traffic system to how it was, and getting rid of the obviously incompetent traffic planners in our area, please write to your local newspaper and voice your opinion.

And while we are at it, let's halve the car parking fees, or scrap them altogether. If Witney can do it, so can Abingdon.

NIGEL DAWE Abingdon Congratulations and hats off to the mad mullahs of the Abingdon town traffic (improvement!) scheme.

After spending thousands upon thousands of pounds that could have been spent on more worthwhile causes, they have succeeded in their original objective.

Not only have they reduced traffic, they have gridlocked the town, with Ock Street and the Vineyard at a standstill or crawling speed for most of the day.

Their other reason for this absurd and totally unplanned system was to bring more people into the town centre.

Wrong, they have managed to cause businesses to either close or relocate outside because people are fed up with waiting in endless traffic queues and have shunned the centre.

As you reported, the town has lost thousands of pounds in car park revenue since this system was put in place.

Is this loss going to be clawed back in our council tax?

Or will the councils admit that it has been lost through their total arrogance at not listening to the people of this town who pay their wages?

Furthermore, will they tell us how much they paid outside consultants to advise and concoct this abysmal and totally unnecessary foul-up?

I cannot resist closing with the well-used phrase - we told you so.

WILLIAM WHITTERN St Peter's Road Abingdon