I was pleased to read in the Oxford Mail on Thursday that residents of Blackbird Leys are going to get a skate park but, at the same time, note the residents of the Old Marston estate are left to suffer in traffic chaos on a daily basis.

Surely traffic control and road safety comes before leisure.

Over the past few years, the traffic in the village has got worse. This is due to the access routes to Oxford hospitals and the university. As the council introduced resident parking zones, parked cars flooded into our estate and is now at such a point that buses struggle to get down Oxford Road and all side roads are packed with cars.

Some parking restrictions were introduced along Mortimer and Rippington Drives but that is now ignored.

There are vehicles parked illegally all over the estate. I have never seen a traffic control officer in or near here and I suspect a fixed penalty ticket has never been issued.

I cannot remember the last time I saw any of the Police Community Team patrolling on the estate.

They have certainly chosen to neglect the traffic and parking situation, as has the city council.

The parish council seems to be more concerned about traffic in the village than on the estate.

It will take someone getting killed or seriously injured before anyone does anything about it.

If you live on the Marston Estate and feel as I do about the situation, then there are local elections coming up. Please ask the candidates what they intend to do about it.

I hope the residents of Blackbird Leys get hours of enjoyment from their new skate park, but we are being left to struggle to get to and from our homes.

ALAN SPENCE, Arlington Drive, Old Marston