Predictably, the Council's proposed two-year transport package is something of a curate's egg - good in parts.

First, the good news. It is right that school entrances need to be made safer, and inconsiderate parkers prevented from adding to the dangers children already face.

It is also a good idea to look at ways of making some inner-city back streets safer for children. The T&A has long supported the idea of a 20mph limit in residential areas, but even greater safety is possible. We will watch with interest the progress of the pilot "Home Zone".

Other improvements include the much-needed revamp of Keighley bus station, improved parking in Shipley town centre and at the station, and long-overdue new paving in Sunbridge Road and North Parade. However...

Do we really want to waste money trying to catch-out hard-pressed motorists who occasionally dip into bus lanes? Certainly these lanes are abused by a minority - though even the majority will sometimes find it difficult to spot restrictions, given the inadequate signing and especially if they are not familiar with the area.

The simple fact is, these lanes are not full of buses even at peak times. They just add to the traffic hold-ups by wasting road space in the mistaken belief that more people will use buses if they are allowed to travel on some main routes marginally quicker. It will take more than that.

Penalising motorists in this way almost out of spite is a misguided exercise, as is the creation of space-wasting "guided bus" lanes to physically exclude them. These latter schemes are tired old thinking guaranteed to annoy far more people than they please.

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