No one doubts the Children's Parade is a wonderful opener for Brighton Festival and a fantastic day out for all the kids.

But, every year, the refusal of the authorities to close North Street and King's Road spoils it. Would it be such a problem, just for a couple of hours, to forget about cars and divert buses?

As it is, we stand in Kensington Street for an hour while the front of the parade crosses North Street in sections and, after that, the parade becomes fragmented.

It's not much fun to watch a procession standing still but it's worse for the younger children, taking two hours to walk half a mile carrying banners.

Wouldn't it be better for the start of the Festival and for the city to make a bolder statement about the relative importance of people over traffic?

-Richard Lindley, Brighton