Mr Bastin is right to once again highlight the perceived "parking problem" in York, and the success of park-and-ride (December 9).

However, do we really have a "parking problem"?

Last June Coun Merrett said that, on an average weekday, city centre car parks are only 49 per cent full and at weekends only 75 per cent occupied.

This over-capacity was confirmed by Coun Simpson-Laing, when she confirmed that even during the St Nicholas Fayre, one of York's busiest periods, there were still many unused parking spaces (September 18).

The variable message signing programme, now being tested, is intended to help motorists find these elusive empty parking spaces.

But this will not work if, for example, the Marygate car park local capacity sign indicates the car park as "full" when on Friday last there were more than 330 empty spaces, and on Saturday more than 70.

These are not isolated incidents.

Where did all these motorists, denied their rightful spaces, park? Presumably in other car parks which had room for them. Or did they give up in disgust, and shop in Malton instead?

The danger is that motorists will not trust displayed information if, from experience, it has proved unreliable. What happens in reverse, when motorists are directed to half-empty car parks, and arrive to find them full?

We have always argued that York can manage its traffic and parking problems. To do so it would be sensible to ensure the present technology works properly, before introducing more of the same.

Philip Crowe,

Chair York Tomorrow,

Stonegate, York.

Updated: 11:03 Thursday, December 12, 2002