16 Stop going round in circles

It seems barely believable today, but only by the skin of its teeth did York avoid Carmageddon in the 1970s when plans to create a dual carriageway around our beautiful city walls were narrowly defeated, thanks to a spirited citizen campaign. We should be thankful for their efforts, but the bastard child of this crazy scheme still lingers with us today in the shape of the inner ring road. The result?

One of York’s most precious heritage assets is encased by a diesel sewer. You can view it in all its glory if you stroll along our ancient walls. This is our city: look within and celebrate; look out and despair! This huge gyratory might have once seemed like a rational solution to the challenge of moving people and goods around our city but it has taken on an intimidating life of its own. A textbook example of induced demand (see No. 30), it now features four sub-gyratories where only the bravest of cyclists and pedestrians will venture.

It’s time to drain this foul 20th century technological moat. There is nothing natural, necessary, or inevitable about this direction of travel. We created this. We can also come up with better alternatives. Time to replace it with a linear park and create an inner green belt. Replace its function with people-friendly transport alternatives. And once we’ve cleared away the visual pollution of the automobiles, let’s revive its beautiful views and sightlines – such as a walking promenade up from Lendal Bridge to restore the dignity of Edwin Lutyens’ NER war memorial on Station Rise.