PERHAPS it was public anger at rising petrol prices that prompted his brainstorm. The Conservative Party nationally is exploiting Labour's discomfort by championing the motorist; now Michael McIntyre, the prospective Tory candidate for York, is apparently doing the same by reopening the debate over York's footstreets. It is a brave move.

Sensibly Mr McIntyre is proceeding along this hazardous political road with caution. He suggests that Front Street in Acomb could be reopened for traffic - if the public supports the plan.

The idea, it seems, came to him after traders in the area said pedestrianisation is bad for business. But reopening the road would only make matters worse.

This precinct is for the people of Acomb. It is particularly popular with parents, children and older people precisely because the dangers of traffic have been removed.

Front Street cannot compete either with the range of shops in York city centre or with the convenience of superstores in out-of-town retail parks. Those with cars are more likely to choose either of these options. It is the pedestrians, the cyclists, the bus-users who are the main customers of Acomb Front Street.

Mr McIntyre may hope his pro-car comments chime with public opinion after the fuel crisis. But that view ignores one positive aspect of the recent disruption: York's streets were calmer, less noisy and altogether more pleasant with fewer cars and lorries on them.

For many people, that brief respite from traffic domination reinforced the need for measures to minimise its worst effects.

Mr McIntyre has gone so far as to say if there is support for reopening Front Street he will turn his attention to other pedestrianised areas. It may be that he is unaware that the York city centre footstreet scheme is among the most important planning innovations in modern times. Without it, York's historical fabric would have been ruined and its retail heart irreparably damaged.

A word to the wise, Mr McIntyre: a policy to reintroduce traffic to the footstreets is a political cul-de-sac.