I feel for these people, because it never used to occur, especially in the mornings, when there were traffic lights on the intersection. 

They were there for a purpose, but have been removed. 

The problem is that, I would estimate, over 90 per cent of the traffic from the O’Connell Road turns left to go into town so that people can get to work and kids can get to schools. 

This means that the drivers have no right of way to any traffic coming from the east and have to wait for a gap in the flow. 

To replace the traffic lights would be very expensive and not much use. 

The easiest and most cost-effective solution is to reopen the boom gates on the Lee Street crossing, especially in the mornings.

This enables drivers travelling into town to take advantage of the breaks in traffic flow at the lights at Bunnings when the traffic is heaviest.

There is very little rail movement between the times when the Bathurst Bullet and XPT pass through.

Can the government afford to employ a couple of people to keep the gates open at peak times?

An even better solution is for automatic boom gates to be installed. Spokespeople from the government and  Bathurst council have indicated that this is too expensive.

The government has wasted much more money - and political support - on the chaos that is WestConnex on the M4!

I have heard that a local firm would be happy to tender for the installation of the automatic gates, thereby  creating more employment and income for the community. 

How about having a go and lobbying the government and local member, councillors?

RE: "A new fast food drive-through coming to Kelso" (Letters, April 8).

Danielle Keerie, I have no doubt that many residents would be in furious support of your plea for something of community benefit to feature in the new commercial centre now under construction at Kelso.

I don’t think that another drive-through fast food outlet fits this need.

However, we must remember that this is a property developers' project with profit as its main objective.

The health and welfare of the Kelso community is far from their concerns or priorities.

In this instance it should be up to Bathurst Regional Council and the local MP to insist that a community facility be part of this development.

In an area where young people are so obviously in need of facilities, support and professional guidance, given the article in the same edition of the Advocate, it is verging on wilful negligence that neither Bathurst Regional Council nor Member for Bathurst Paul Toole are insisting on such inclusion within this project.

One would think such a contribution would reflect well on the developers, council and the local MP.

Two photographs from the Advocate tell the story: one photograph of the broadly smiling developers with dollar signs glistening in their eyes, and the other, in Saturday's paper, of local residents and their children, looking anything but happy.

We should be doing better than this for Kelso residents.

Letter writers to the Western Advocate are advised that letters may be edited for legal, space or other reasons.