If you are driving in Colchester today no doubt you’ll have sat in a queue of cars somewhere.

Gridlock has become an all too common occurrence while trying to traverse the town centre.

Figures have shown car use in the town is growing at much the same rate as the town is expanding.

So how do you solve a problem on this scale?

The county’s road boss admits we are feeling the impact of poor decisions which were made 20 years ago.

But looking back it may have been impossible to predict our town would have grown so much, so quickly.

The works at Ipswich Road are meant to tackle the existing bumper to bumper queues and help as more homes are built in the not so distant future.

More homes will equal more cars - and the decision makers need to think outside the box.

And we too must accept we are part of the problem.

If we get in our cars to travel a few miles we are adding to the congestion and carbon emissions.

A culture change is needed to get people out of cars and instead travelling via bus, bike, foot or car share.

But our roads as they are make this difficult.

Why would you travel out of town to catch the Park and Ride or get on your bike when cycle lanes stop and start all over the place?

Not everyone is going to agree on what is the best step.

Time will tell if the months of roadworks at Ipswich Road have been worth it.

But looking to the future we need a different approach.