While I understand how Steve Smith feels about buses using Buckingham Road, Brighton, (Letters, June 8), he must realise that all traffic using the streets where we live is undesirable.

It is, unfortunately, a necessary part of our existence until such time as we find an alternative.

I have lived in Terminus Road and Buckingham Place at various addresses for more than 40 years so I feel quite qualified to comment on the situation.

Terminus Road is a main thoroughfare in both directions all day and even into the small hours. It is highly congested from early morning until after 8pm. Between 4pm and 7pm traffic is at a crawl and, for the best part, stationary.

The road is narrow and only has a footpath on the western side whereas Buckingham Road which has pavements both sides and is wider. The pollution at times is unbearable and is probably above what is considered to be a safe level.

Buckingham Road on the other hand does not cause the traffic flow to come to a halt. If it did, Buckingham Road residents would suffer the same congestion and fumes as we do in Terminus Road.

We do not have the Parking facilities that Buckingham Road has and I feel all residents in Terminus Road would willingly swap the facilities, as we already have masses of buses to start with but no parking. We do not have bins for rubbish, so the pavements get full and reduce pavement space even more.

If Terminus Road was one-way going south, Buckingham Road one-way going north and a few changes were made to Surrey Street and the station approach, traffic flow could be increased dramatically.

-S J Percy, Peoples Parking Protest, Chatham Place, Brighton