Southend Council chief executive Rob Tinlin says the new layout at Victoria Circus (sorry, Gateway) is working better, and we are dealing with more traffic more quickly.

Before, if I drove up Queensway from the shopping centre, I would just have to go around the roundabout and then return down Queensway to get to Southchurch Avenue, Thorpe Bay and Shoebury.

With the new layout, I have to drive up to the T-junction, decide which lane markings I have to choose, invariably to queue at the lights, then drive up to the roundabout in London Road, then return back down to the junction and lights, again usually having to wait.

Then, finally I go back past the point I entered, on the opposite side of the road, going towards Southchurch.

I did this journey last week. From entering Queensway to passing on the opposite side took me seven minutes, this at 3pm.

Why not let traffic do a U-turn at the junction, as being controlled by traffic lights it would not impede any oncoming traffic and, as in my case, would not have to do the trip twice.

R Day
Ashurst Avenue
Southend

...I could not agree more with Mr Nicholson (June 24).

I too have asked many people, including bus, taxi and delivery drivers, who all say the same about the new layout at Victoria Circus. We are told it was to ease congestion, which it hasn’t.

The old system had problems twice a day. The new one has them all day.

We are told we will get used to it, but what about visitors to our town? They won’t get used to it.

As Mr Nicholson said, the town centre is an accident waiting to happen.

Tony Simpson
Manchester Drive
Leigh