LETTERS ROUND-UP: Trams not cars ... Bailout solution? ... Have your say ... Station thanks

No Dark Ages anywhere there.

Maybe those all seem too foreign. So how about the city centre shopping district in Leeds, or the centre of York?

Streets without cars are not plunged into the Dark Ages. On the contrary they are pleasanter safer spaces with less pollution and noise.

They are one of the reasons people visit York.

No one comes to pass a happy hour watching the traffic jams in Gillygate, to my knowledge. It’s certainly not featured in the tourist literature.

Yes, we need better public transport. Deregulating the buses was Thatcher’s foolish idea. Give us trams.

If they’re good enough for our twin historic city of Dijon, and hundreds of other cities, including Sheffield, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Newcastle, they’re good enough for York.

Christian Vassie, Blake Court, Wheldrake, York

THE bailout accepted by the Greek government cannot be a basis for recovery because it’s conditional on implementation of the same measures already imposed on Greece since 2010, only more severe.

These have resulted in the Greek economy shrinking by more than 20 per cent, making the debt even more unpayable than it was already.

Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described the new plan insisted upon by eurozone ministers as “unsustainable”.

It is a political formula designed to appease German voters, who think they’re being asked to foot someone else’s bills, and other countries such as Ireland and Portugal, who have already accepted austerity measures.

It involves the wholesale removal of decision-making powers from the elected Greek government.

The IMF has accepted that the Greek debt crisis cannot be solved without writing off some of this debt, as was done for West Germany in 1953, when about half its debts were written off, which helped to keep the West Germans loyal to NATO and made possible the German “economic miracle” of the 1950s.

The economic nightmare in which the Greek people find themselves was caused by the decision of an earlier government to take the country into the euro on a false assessment of the state of its economy, which was then wrecked by the banking crisis of 2008.

Chris Walker-Lyne, Millfield Road, York

AS reported in The Press, the new joint executive is asking residents to have their say on the council’s priorities.

York is a great place to live and work, and we are determined to build on this for residents and businesses over the next four years.

The draft council plan for York is focused around three key headline themes: l “a prosperous city for all”, where local businesses can thrive and residents have good quality jobs, housing and opportunities.

l “a focus on frontline services”, to ensure all residents, particularly the least advantaged, can access reliable services and community facilities.

l “a council that listens to residents”, to ensure it delivers the services you want and works in partnership with local communities.

We want you to have your say on these priorities.

To find out more and feedback your thoughts by Wednesday, August 26.

You can go to www.york.gov.uk/councilplan or contact City of York Council, West Offices, York YO1 6GA.

Cllr Keith Aspden, Deputy leader, City of York Council, Heath Moor Drive, Fulford, York

I WOULD just like to thank the people who stopped and gave their assistance on Monday, July 20 at Leeds train station as I was making my morning commute from York to Halifax, when I was dealing with a gentleman having a seizure.

The help and support was reassuring and invaluable. I was shocked, however, at the number of people who carried on walking even though my shouts of “help” were very audible even over the heavy footfall of early morning commuters.

I do hope that those people who carried on walking are not left unattended should they ever require any assistance from strangers.

Joe Wawrzyniak, York