I can assure Fiona Worley (My Ascot Dread, Letters March 17) and others who will be taking exams during Ascot week that their needs and those of the rest of the city who have to go about their daily business have been at the forefront of our traffic management planning.

The city is open for business during Ascot and I anticipate that traffic movements for large parts of the day and for areas away from the racecourse (especially during the early afternoon while racing is in progress) will be "as normal".

For morning peak periods we do not anticipate racing traffic to cause problems - however, people will need to be familiar with the changes in road operation.

In the afternoons we hope people will adopt flexible working hours and alternative routes to minimise mixing with race traffic.

All schools and places of higher education have been contacted and have full access to our Traffic Management Plan so that they can plan ahead for the benefit of their students.

This plan can be viewed on www.york.gov.uk/ascot

The site also contains information on specific aspects that may be of particular interest to individuals.

A helpline telephone number for residents will be available following the May race meeting and run throughout Royal Ascot.

Written information will also be circulated via a special edition of Your City. This will be distributed to all residents and businesses within the city.

It will help everyone if, where possible, routine journeys (such as monthly supplier deliveries, maintenance checks) are scheduled in the weeks either side of the Ascot meeting and if people apply common sense to other trips, allowing extra time for their journeys and avoiding non-essential trips at the busiest times of the day.

Peter Evely,

Head of Network Management,

City of York Council.

Updated: 10:29 Monday, March 21, 2005