I'M not surprised that Hope Street, in the centre of Glasgow, is one of the most polluted streets in the UK.

Perhaps it would be a good idea if the council started clamping down on the black cabs which queue all the way down from Waterloo Street to the junction of Argyle Street. These taxis are constantly starting/stopping and idling their engines.

The cabs also obstruct bus stops and loading bays, meaning buses and vans cannot pull into their legitimate bays and have to load and unload in the middle of the road.

This is not only unsafe, but causes delays for everyone.

After numerous e-mails to the council about this over the last couple of years, I haven't had so much as a reply.

I'm all for having lots of taxis in the city, but the council need to provide adequate ranks for them.

D Mackinnon Via e-mail

Bank dilemma

The sale of Dino's restaurant, a Glasgow institution, confuses me. Are the Halifax and the Bank of Scotland not the same bank? If so, why do they need two branches directly across the road from each other in the city's Sauchiehall Street?

I suspect, once the new Halifax opens, HBoS will declare that the BoS branch is unviable, leaving another empty premises and further destroyed that end of Sauchiehall Street.

Bill McKelvie Via e-mail

SECC parking

The parking problems around the SECC have gone on for years (February 5) and will continue until more, free parking is made available.

I don't blame local residents for complaining, but their anger should be directed at the SECC bosses, who are paid huge salaries but seem incapable of providing adequate parking for customers.

The new multi-storey car park, operated by the loss-making and laughable City Parking, is worse than useless, charging high prices for far too few spaces.

Me, I park on the other side of the Clyde and access the site via the Millennium Bridge.

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