WHILE applauding Julian Sturdy’s appeal for a long-term approach to transport investment, it simply boils down to more road building (The Press, March 1).

This will never solve York’s traffic problem and concentrating on the A 1237 outer ring road is narrow-minded.

If there is to be any hope of achieving sustainability, and meeting the required CO2 reduction targets, land use planning and transport must be considered as one. Building more out-of-town shopping centres will not only lead to a decline of York’s retail and commercial activities, but at the same time put even more traffic on to the A64 and A1237. Widening the A 1237 will attract even more traffic, thus reinforcing demands to dual the A64 all the way to Scarborough and into the North Sea.

Yes, widening the A1237 may take some traffic out of the city centre but for how long? In five or ten years we will be back to square one.

However, by electrifying the York to Scarborough railway, and increasing speeds to 100mph, would take pressure off the A64.

The present proposals are only to electrify the route between Manchester and York, so through services from to Scarborough are likely to disappear. The resulting diesel train shuttle service would put even more traffic onto the A64 and surrounding roads.

Roger Bastin, Copmanthorpe, York.