Although for some people, Bank Street in Boston is the nearest they are likely to get to a by-pass, we hope that they will shortly see some commonsense and agree that the road should remain closed to traffic.
Everyone seems to have coped with its closure for around a year whilst the Market Place renovations were taking place – but suddenly the suggestion that it might remain shut has caused a serial mounting of hobbyhorses to protest.
Lincolnshire County Council is currently consulting on whether to permanently close Bank Street, in a public consultation period that closes on 18^th July.
In the meantime, we were staggered to hear that more than 800 people have signed a petition objecting to the closure.
That was until we learned that the campaign was being drummed up in the nearby Tates fish and chip shop.
Perhaps people fear that their daily fix of lard might be withheld if they refuse to sign – but whatever the reason, it is the perfect location to obtain lots of signatures from people who probably couldn’t care less whether the road closed or not.
Supporters of the campaign say that Bank Street is often used by people to get from one end of town to the other without having to negotiate John Adams Way.
So it’s a rat run – and a nasty one at that.
As our picture at the top opf the page shows, it is barely wider than the cars that use it, whilst pedestrians are constrained to a pavement just one slab wide.
The right-angled turn from the end of the street into Market Place is a danger to both cars and pedestrians.

And at a time when we are seeking to make the Market Place as pedestrian friendly as possible – should we really be encouraging vehicles to come sneaking up on pedestrians from behind.
Interestingly - although it would appear that no-one has bothered to look – a journey from Bank Street to Asda avoiding John Adams Way is actually longer than the one avoiding Bank Street.
If you click on the photo to the right to enlarge it, you will see what we mean ...
Not only that, but looking at the map, we suspect that some of the signatories to the petition will be from Wormgate – where they have recently succeeded in a campaign to get bollards placed in the road to stop drivers using it as  - yes, you’ve guessed … a rat run!
A little irony there, perhaps?
It boils down to a game of two halves.
If you drive a car, you want Bank Street to remain open for what are purely selfish reasons for your own convenience.
If you are a pedestrian, you want Bank Street to close so that you don’t have to take your life in your hands during a walk of a few hundred yards.
We have used the road in both capacities, so we understand both arguments.
But we have to say that negotiating the road from the comfort of our car is infinitely preferable to the sinking sensation felt as the sound of a vehicle approaching from behind is heard.
The only possible argument against closing the road is one of access by emergency services.
But there has been no problem in the past year, as access to the road is managed by an automatic barrier, and we are sure that this arrangement could be continued.
If Lincolnshire County Council adopts the same attitude towards public opinion as Boston Borough Council, then any petition to keep the road open will be ignored.
But if the argument to keep Bank Street open prevails, then perhaps we should consider allowing more than just the Into Town buses to drive through Strait Bargate. 
And how about opening Church Lane, Emery Lane, Dolphin Lane and the road between Marks and Spencer and the side of Oldrids on a one way basis to any vehicles wide enough to negotiate it?
No.
Let us seriously reclaim the areas that are ours as residents from the unnecessary invasion of four-wheeled monsters.

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