MATTHEW LAVERACK asserted (Letters, March 4) that the only way to end traffic congestion is to “let it flow” without artificial obstructions.

If he is seriously suggesting a traffic free-for-all, then the recent experience of free evening parking will point him towards the inevitable consequences.

Motorists driving round in circles looking for a parking space was one description. Perhaps he will enlighten us on how pedestrians are expected to safely cross roads with flowing traffic especially if using a wheelchair, walking stick or pushing a buggy.

Jim McGurn’s letter sensibly challenged this short-term view, and addressed the more serious issue ofYork’s increasing inability to cope over the coming decades, with yet more demand for road access.

York will never be a car-users’ paradise.

Now is the time to continue restraint, and ensure that those who need to use a motor vehicle, rather than want to, are able to travel in a reasonable timescale.

Car sharing and other travel options for some journeys are the only way to avoid predicted future gridlock.

Paul Hepworth, Windmill Rise, York