COUNCIL bosses have thanked drivers for being patient during work aimed at transforming Blackburn town centre -- after revealing it had only caused minor Traffic delays.

But traders, pedestrians and bus passengers today gave the thumbs down to the pedestrianisation of Church Street.

Workers closed off Church Street on Monday as part of a £2million pedestrianisation project, which will ultimately see the thoroughfare adorned with pavement cafes, shrubs and public art. Traffic engineers were also out in force during peak times to monitor the impact.

They said they found drivers were met with only minor delays as many adjusted their journeys for the new traffic system. But a straw poll of motorists and pedestrians yesterday revealed people were still concerned about congestion and road safety.

Alma Roberts, from the Burlington Road, Blackburn, said: "It seems to have been disasterous for the other roads near by. "

Peter Theodorou, who runs the Hake Boat in Railway Road, said: "It is a nightmare. You risk life and limb crossing the road."

Sadiq Patel, who works at Remix, further up Railway Road, added: "It is a lot more congested. I can't see what good it has done." Frank Streetly, who was shopping in the town centre, fumed: "They spent a fortune sorting out the bus station and within days of Church Street closing it is chaos along Railway Road."

Navy man and motorist Daniel Evans, said: "I only came home to Blackburn today and what used to be a 10-minute journey across town now takes 35."

Traffic and Transportation Manager Ian Richardson, said: "Most routes into town were unaffected, but some delays were experienced by drivers entering town via Darwen Street bridge. The main reason for the delays was due to buses off-loading passengers in Mincing Lane, causing a traffic to back up towards Darwen Street Bridge.

"Mincing Lane is no longer an operating bus stop. as the road has been reduced to a single lane to accommodate extra on-street parking and passengers will need to leave buses at the Boulevard nearby

"We are keen to hear from anyone who has any comments on the new system or that can tell us anything we may have missed, but early indications are that drivers access to town at peak times has not been impeded by the road closure and that the new routes are able to meet the additional traffic demand.

"We have set up a special telephone hotline which has been more luke warm than hot, we received only ten calls on day one of the closure, but had expected it to be a lot busier than that.

The closure of Church Street is one part of the major overhaul of the town centre traffic network.

A new orbital route allowing through traffic to by-pass the town centre altogether is also being developed at a cost of £11million.

Funding for the extension of Barbara Castle Way has been secured and work will start on the construction of the new road later this year.

Church Street will be transformed into a £2 million pedestrian priority zone as a showpiece for the centre with high quality paving, street furniture, lighting and the prestigious Transitions public art feature.

If anyone has any comments to make or queries about the new system they call 01254 680178."