I fully support Councillor Dave Berry’s suggestion (First bus labelled ‘belchers’, Courier, October 24) that one of the best ways of reducing traffic congestion in Musselburgh is to provide an upgraded diversionary route using the Electric Bridge which, even it if does require total replacement, would be well worth the investment.

There are numerous examples of diversionary routes in congested towns throughout the country: Kettering is just one example where for well over 25 years through traffic has been signposted away from the congested town centre, and successfully at that.

The use of safety due to a past tragedy as an argument against this is misplaced and would only be of relevance if there was no upgrading of the diversionary route to acceptable standards.

Apart from ‘belching First Group buses’ (of which many have been cascaded to East Lothian from London and replaced there by more environmentally friendly buses at the cost of the public purse via Transport for London), and in noting buses only account for 30 per cent of the pollution, the real reason for the serious congestion and therefore additional unnecessary pollution is the deliberate frustration of being able to travel from the Mall to Newbigging due to the plethora of unsynchronised traffic lights in a very short piece of road.

These create and exacerbate the current situation and are the result of bad planning where traffic from new housing schemes, and indeed existing ones, are channelled along High Street, making the present chaos both predictable and potentially avoidable.

Recognising this aspect, coupled with the diversionary route using the Electric Bridge would solve the problem, and if you know how to solve something, just get on and do it.

Pollution improvement should not be only a local Government issue, but also a national one, and indeed a European one – and if the will is there, it can be done if all parties work together in seeking the finance to achieve a common objective.

Harry L. Barker Dirleton Avenue North Berwick