PEOPLE are already staying away, and who can blame them. To reach York these days, the traveller must possess the patience of Job and the tenacity of Scott of the Antarctic.

Tourists and shoppers can find far better ways to spend their precious leisure time than crawling along the clogged arteries of this city. And they are. According to one trader's estimate, this desertion is already costing the economy "tens of thousands of pounds a day".

Traffic jams are a fact of life on these crowded islands. But what we are now experiencing is more than an inconvenience. It is the road to ruin.

This should be the busiest time of year for the shops. Many rely on the Christmas bonanza to keep them going through the leaner times. They cannot afford the loss of earnings caused by traffic gridlock.

Every other city business is also suffering, as delivery and appointment times become a lottery.

It is ironic that we are about to reach the first anniversary of the great flood. Twelve months on, a natural crisis has been usurped by a man-made one.

As the article on this page stresses, the A64-Copmanthorpe junction upgrade is essential. But the work can and should be carried out without such extreme side-effects.

We must assume the Highways Agency drew up a forecast for the impact on traffic flows of the A64 roadworks. We do not know whether this was hopelessly inaccurate or simply not acted upon.

Neither can we judge who is right in the row between the council and the Highways Agency over an alleged agreement on keeping more lanes open.

We do not have the time to waste on recriminations. Enough damage has already been wrought.

Today we put forward two ways to get York moving again. These should be implemented as soon as possible. There will be a cost - but that is modest compared to the cost to York's economy of doing nothing.

Updated: 10:24 Thursday, October 25, 2001