I WAS glad when I heard that the new council transport leader was going to take another look at the decision to close Queen Street to buses.

It seems madness to force buses to make long detours to turn round, adding to fumes, especially if the city is to gain so much more traffic which the new centre hopes for.

It would make the buses even less reliable and lead to fewer people wanting to use them.

But I was horrified when I saw the proposals put forward last week.

To make the closure ‘work’ will involve undoing many traffic changes made two years ago, and re-introducing vehicles into Cornmarket, with taxis doing three point turns in the middle.

To go to these extremes because of a desire to close Queen Street seems like madness.

The argument of the Westgate Alliance that it will be safer to have more buses going round an ‘inner ring road’ is not credible.

Nor is their claim that they want people to stay around and access all areas of the city such as the Covered Market.

More credible is the idea that they’d like people to get on and off buses at the far end of their new shopping centre meaning that they’ll be less likely to go to other parts of the city centre.

We need to keep bus operations as simple as possible, and keeping Queen Street open to them is a good way to help.

Without its buses Oxford would grind to a halt (more often than it does now).

Please save us all a lot more hassle and keep Queen Street the way it has been – delivering people to the real centre of the city, and being able to turn round simply without adding to extra traffic.

GORDON STOKES The Glebe, Cumnor