IN response to your article on York's car parks during the St Nicholas Fayre weekend (December 2).

Yes, city car parks were reasonably full, but there was spare capacity in the system. Factors were at play though: Saturday's weather was dreadful.

The St Nicholas Fayre Saturday is always the heaviest traffic day of the year in York. This year the city centre was exceptionally busy, which is great for the city's retailers.

The car parks still had some spare capacity, particularly Foss Bank, Castle Mills and Monk Bar.

New, variable message signs, to be introduced early next year, will help drivers know where there is spare parking in the city centre, and the addition of Monks Cross Park and Ride will ease congestion in time for next Christmas.

Closure of St George's Field car park is a yearly event. The provision of additional coach parking is positive because it enables us to get more people into York to do their Christmas shopping while also cutting congestion because each coach saves between 20 and 50 cars heading for York on the busiest day of the year.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing

Executive member for transport,

Carnot Street,

Leeman Road, York.

Updated: 12:55 Wednesday, December 04, 2002