FED up of the congestion in our city car parks? (Parking Points, June 4).

In the early 1900s Captain Edward Grace had the answer. In those days there was a ferry for passengers using the river from York to Hull.

This city has one of the biggest assets, a river that, because of its systems of locks can reach out to many destinations.

Many of its landing stages at Selby and Goole are now just derelict sites of memories gone by.

But one can see still the advantage of its many tributaries that can be used to also ferry goods.

Wake up please and see whether we can see this unused form of transport, so we can see those gracious type of craft once again up and down the River Ouse, as in years gone by.

Keith Chapman,

Custance Walk,

St Benedict Road,

York.

...Mr. Helsdon of York wrote to defend his perceived need to use a car (letters, June 17).

No one will deny the car is the only viable option, for some journeys. He cites shopping trips as an example.

But some UK supermarkets are now offering cycle trailer hire schemes, where the hirer tows their week's shopping home by pedal power and takes recyclable material to the supermarket's newspaper and bottle banks, on the next trip back.

I have shopped locally with a cycle trailer for many years. It saves a fortune in petrol and pollution.

The closure of many schools has placed remaining ones beyond practicable walking and cycling distance for some.

But York has been a test bed for helping to reverse this trend, through the Sustrans Safe Routes To School project.

Namby-pambying one's children via the so-called school run simply fuels the "traffic danger" which your correspondent quotes.

If more parents would let groups of children walk or cycle together for personal safety, we could end this vicious spiral of demand for motorised travel.

I should also like to find my parked bike intact, instead of being kicked out of shape by city centre yobs.

Perhaps York will yet obtain a secure city centre cycle park, on the pattern of other UK and continental cities.

It is obvious to any reasonable person that the city centre cannot be given over to the demands of car owners.

To do so would invite gridlock and horrendous pollution. For practical advice on cutting car use, visit http://www.semlyen.net/transport/welcome.htm

Paul Hepworth,

Windmill Rise,

Holgate, York.

Updated: 12:12 Wednesday, June 19, 2002