I WAS amused to read the many complaining letters from York motorists (November 5). I gave up my car several years ago and now find cycling or walking into town much more relaxing than sitting in a long stinking queue of polluting traffic.

I congratulate the council on the efforts they have made to improve cycle facilities in York. However, when you get to Parliament Street you have to push the bike the last 100 yards to the cycle parking area.

When will the council treat cyclists and motorists the same and require that motorists push their cars the last 100 yards to a parking space?

Only when they do this will motorists leave their cars at home and free the city of the congestion that they complain so bitterly about. Who do they think causes the congestion?

Roger Mowbray,

Bootham Terrace, York.

...Mr Woolley's answer beggars belief, of course the answer is yes, "he that is not with me is against me". The map is the same as years ago, but 78 roads have been blocked, made one way or denied access. If this doesn't produce congestion, I don't know what would.

Add to this the council's decision to buy at more than a million pounds a second hand traffic light system which allows them to increase the red light time sequence at the flick of a switch, to activate pedestrian signals when there are none there, and then to introduce pelican crossings which are not connected to the system and therefore defeat the object of the entire system.

Roads have been narrowed, blocked, had cycle lanes substituted for road lanes, adding to congestion.

York's streets were evolved for four-wheeled horse drawn vehicles not much bigger than a car. They were not designed for the largest single deck buses allowed on our roads; look at Scarborough's buses for the answer.

Finally if you want to see how traffic moved in the past watch the Evening Press video Bygone Times and the BTC This Is York video.

Peter Wheatley,

Jubilee Terrace, York.

Updated: 11:09 Thursday, November 07, 2002