D. McTernan has predictably entered the congestion debate (Letters, August 22) in support of Dr. Scott Marmion.

May I remind both that I have never advocated a city that is motor vehicle-free. Indeed my initial letter asserted that..“reductions in car dependency will benefit essential motor vehicle use.” That includes servicing, deliveries, tradesmen, blue badge holders, public transport and emergency services.

The car is often a useful servant. But if lots of owners try to access urban centres at the same time, often travelling short distances in single occupancy vehicles, then congestion is created. That disbenefits the many essential road users mentioned above.

The oft quoted mantra that “traffic must flow” begs the question of whether local authorities should try to accommodate whatever level of demand exists. If they tried to, then suppressed demand would likely be unleashed to the extent that gridlock would arrive sooner, rather than later. Meanwhile I’ll continue to sail past the queues on two wheels.

Finally, I wonder which candidates in the May 2019 local elections will promise what can never be delivered, namely an urban motorists’ paradise in York.

Paul Hepworth,

Windmill Rise,

Holgate, York