YORK Barbican Centre is, in effect, situated on a traffic island, to which pedestrian access on all four sides can be extremely dangerous.

Increasingly the amount of activity centred around the area can only increase pedestrian movement; therefore increasing the risk of accidents.

At peak time, Fawcett Street and Cemetary Road which merge into Fishergate, and Paragon Street and Barbican Road which head towards Walmgate Bar and Foss Islands Road, are often at a standstill. A virtual gridlock exists around this area between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. The introduction of a hotel and flats into the equation doesn't bear thinking about.

The newly-built flats on Hospital Fields Road and the new developments on James Street and Hull Road have already steadily added to the traffic build-up.

How much more congestion can be heaped upon this already "overloaded circuit board" before a fuse blows?

To those who argue that more housing in required in York, all I would say is: houses are not available, people will have to go and live elsewhere. York is already bursting at the seams.

At the root of the city's housing shortage are buy-to-let developers. What is the point of building more houses and flats just to give more opportunity to the likes of them to snap them up? I moved away from York four years ago. At the time it was a great upheaval and I was sad to leave. Now however, when I look at what the city is becoming - a faceless, concrete metropolis - I would never wish to return.

J Glowala,

Elms Close,

Riccall,

York.

Updated: 10:11 Monday, March 15, 2004