DEAR EDITOR - As well as patrolling the roads and lanes of Catshill and Marlbrook, Bromsgrove, in the cause of law and order, when vehicles could not be left unlit after dusk, or parking on footways and verges resulted in a uniformed knock on the door, I have supported all logical schemes to restrict drivers to the lawful speed limits.

I do not support the proliferation of speed humps or platforms, and would urge residents of Braces Lane and adjoining roads to think carefully before signing the petition reported in the Advertiser/Messenger.

Braces Lane existed as a relative level through route from Catshill eastwards long before the construction of any current dwellings, and should be capable of being used 'without let or hindrance' by law abiding citizens.

'Humps' and 'platforms' are undeniably a hindrance, reducing speeds to five mph, or risking damage to the expensive catalytic converter on some cars if 'cushions' are installed.

Such a cure for speeding can be more painful than the disease, especially for anyone with a slipped disc or when towing a caravan and finding the galley stores in disarray.

Goods vehicles may well thump along as they do over the sinking manhole covers in the Old Birmingham Road, making an alarming racket at 45mph in a 30mph zone. Boy racers may enjoy the challenge of the humps, as they do in the Beacon car park, lose control and end up in someone's garden.

There are already traffic calming measures resulting from the string of parent's cars creating a chicane by St Luke's, as well as the person who now habitually parks illegally across half of the footway at the Sports Ground entrance, forcing eastwards traffic to cross the now non-existent white line on the blind bend.

That is where an accident is imminent, as drivers cut the corner at any speed. I was promised in 2001 that the line would be restored when the weather allowed in April 2002. The 7.5 tonne weight restriction sign also disappeared at the junction with the A38 when it was reorganised some years ago.

Speed platforms in Barley Mow Lane have forced traffic between Bromsgrove and Catshill onto Golden Cross Lane. The variety of humps installed in School Lane, Lickey End, are a twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week nuisance, to protect children for three quarters of an hour at the most.

Do local residents, especially those in Braces Lane, want to live with this for the rest of their lives?

John Cawthen,

Cottage Drive,

Marlbrook,

Bromsgrove.