I was so sorry to read about Helen Wilkinson’s experience last October, being unable to reach the hospital before her mother died due to the volume of traffic in York (I was stuck in traffic, and when I got there it was too late to say goodbye, The Press, September 12).

However, I take this as a reason to discourage the use of cars across the city centre except for those whose journeys are essential, not as an argument to open absolutely all streets to through traffic.

I moved to York in 1982, before Deangate was closed to motor traffic. Even then, it was quicker to cross town on a bike rather than a car, as I soon worked out for my daily commute from Clementhorpe to Rowntrees, despite many more roads being open to cars at that time. There are quite simply too many motor vehicles on the streets of York a lot of the time, and the congestion that holds up emergency vehicles and essential journeys will only be solved by reducing the volume of that traffic.

Nicola Normandale, Irwin Avenue, York