SIR, - Over recent months your columns have included numerous irate letters concerning the enhancement scheme" in various areas of St Albans. As the entire process has now gone beyond pure farce, perhaps the time has come when we, as council tax payers,

SIR, - Over recent months your columns have included numerous irate letters concerning the "enhancement scheme" in various areas of St Albans. As the entire process has now gone beyond pure farce, perhaps the time has come when we, as council tax payers, should look at the alternative benefit - that is seek to derive some amusement at the manner in which these so-called improvements have been designed and undertaken. The list is fairly endless but a few aspects which have given countless hours of pleasure to us all, no doubt adding to the attractiveness of our city to anyone brave enough to visit let alone shop, include: n The stop/start saga of the works in St Peter's Street - not to mention the cycle lanes fiasco. n The delight of seeing areas fenced off - but without a worker in sight. n The pedestrianisation experiment - bound to be a great "safety" success as no-one will bother to go into the city centre. n That a project can increase in cost from £1.8m to £5m without their being any misjudgement or lack of financial control. n The missed opportunity of installing a traffic-light filter system for the right turn from Marshalswick Lane into St Albans Road. n The new road/traffic lights layout at the Hatfield Road/Clarence Road junction - exquisitely designed to make access to Clarence Road virtually impossible due to the location of two parking bays in that road. - And the list goes on. As this is a perfect example of local authority management and accountability, I personally would not let our county council anywhere near designing, managing or costing a child's model railway set. Perhaps the time has come when all matters concerning "road enhancement" should be transferred to the Leisure and Arts Portfolio as best placed to manage a comedy of errors. On the other hand we must congratulate the county council for acting so promptly and efficiently in increasing councillors/officers attendance and responsibility allowances and increasing staff levels. No doubt we can all reflect on this when we receive our 2006 council tax demand. NORMAN BROOKS, Oaklands Lane, Smallford.