Having read the article ‘Clean Air Day campaign tackles pollution in York’ (June 19), it must be concluded that the vast majority of the blame lies squarely with City of York Council and their ridiculous road closures around York.

Viner Street is a prime example, with roadworks in Wigginton Road near the hospital causing queuing right back over Crichton Avenue and in the other direction right down Gillygate. As a result the traffic is either at a standstill or moving four or five car lengths before coming to a standstill.

It took me an hour to get to the hospital from Acomb and 50 minutes of that was the last 500 metres.

Open all the closed roads or rat runs and we will start moving again. Moving vehicles pollute less than idling ones.

They cannot blame industry for the pollution because we have none: the glassworks, Adams Hydraulics Foundry, British Sugar, British Rail, Rowntrees and steam engines have all gone. We don’t burn coal in our homes, so it is basically vehicles and gridlock that is the cause of most of our air quality problems.

So get us moving. Open our roads - all of them!

David Wilson,

Almsford Drive, Acomb, York