THE footstreets are on the march again. Soon after the council announced it could pedestrianise St Leonard's Place, a proposal to ban traffic along Fossgate is being favourably considered.

This is all to the good. It is time York re-established itself as Britain's easiest city to stroll around.

We should be proud that our city was a pioneer of pedestrianisation, banning cars from Stonegate more than 30 years ago before the major footstreet schemes were adopted in the 1980s.

Those bold moves helped to revitalise the city as a visitor attraction and shopping centre, and many other towns and cities followed suit.

Traffic has increased ever since. The car is encroaching on the quality of city centre life again, as streets never designed for motor vehicles are clogged with traffic and summer pollution levels soar. Now is the moment to make the pedestrian a priority again.

Fossgate is an example of a York street ripe for conversion. It has an eclectic mix of independent shops and places to eat and drink. No great leap of imagination is needed to envisage a footstreet Fossgate adorned with tables and chairs and buzzing with conversation, bringing some continental-style culture to the city.

Unusually, traders are right behind the notion. Jim and Sue Hardie of the Blue Bell have even proved that it would work by hosting popular al fresco beer festivals via a temporary traffic ban.

In theory Fossgate should be relatively vehicle-free during the day, but motorists regularly flout existing restrictions here and on connecting roads. Making it a fully-fledged footstreet would end any confusion and free up space for trade to flourish. Step to it!

Updated: 10:12 Tuesday, December 02, 2003