GERMAN transport expert Professor Helmut Holzapfel stopped off for a few days in Lancaster this week and reporter Paul Wilkinson met up with him to discuss Lancaster's traffic problems;

Back in the 1980s when the German economic miracle looked unstoppable the accepted solution to increasing traffic congestion was to build more and more roads.

Typical of German enterprise the various new ring roads and bypasses were well financed, well-designed and well-built.

But unforeseen problems quickly arose.

Prof Helmut Holzapfel of Kassel University watched and studied the effects of these new road schemes and these days is consulted by the German Government on transport projects worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Enjoying a sunny afternoon in historic Lancaster, he was very impressed with the vibrant city centre but sometimes struggled to be heard above the roar of passing articulated lorries.

And the mere mention of a bypass for Lancaster filled him with dread.

"Lancaster should learn from our mistakes," said Prof Holzapfel, "Many people in Germany would cry out for a ring road or bypass. But time and time again these roads would damage urban centres and badly affect local economies. A lot of people would say that they would never allow out-of-town shopping centres but in every case big supermarkets were built. It ruined the surrounding countryside and channelled a lot of money away from the city centre. In the long term it was also very bad for jobs."

But Prof Holzapfel, who has designed and planned rail and road improvements, airports, public transport systems, cycling in cities and has advised the federal Government on all aspects of transport planning, believes Lancaster has great potential.

"Lancaster is a living city and should stay that way, but you've got to get as much traffic as possible off the roads, especially the lorries. In Germany we have started city logistic concepts where goods destined for shops are loaded onto a few lorries which go into the city centre rather than 100 different lorries making 100 different deliveries. We also have many, many small urban buses that run every ten minutes and are inexpensive. In fact, shopkeepers have schemes where customer loyalty is repaid by money off their travel costs. Lorries should be made to stick to certain routes and the rail link should be developed so that as much freight as possible destined for Heysham goes by rail and not road. There is lots of money available from Europe for these type of integrated transport schemes at the moment."

He added: "I would not cycle around Lancaster. It is very dangerous. Cycling needs to be looked at again and also bus lanes which can be used by both buses and taxis. There is no need in Lancaster for a tram system because of the disruption and the money needed to put in the track could be used to run a modern, ecological bus service for years."

Not everyone would agree with Prof Holzapfel, some would welcome more out-of-town shopping and industrial developments to broaden the district's economic base.

But nearly everyone in the area would agree with one of his concluded comments.

"There has to be provision for cars but you need to take another look at the one-way system.

It's very difficult to make good a system which has so many problems but there are many emerging technologies which could be used. It is difficult - I know because I've tried it - but it can be done."

What do you think of the professor's ideas? Write in with your views.