Drivers may eventually be prevented from using a main road to get into Leeds city centre - permanently.
Extinction Rebellion activists caused controversy when they blocked Victoria Bridge for a demonstration last week and stopped motorists from using Neville Street to get into the city centre.
Critics condemned the climate change activists for causing five days of disruption on the roads, but Leeds City Council has been planning to close Neville Street to all car drivers for almost four years.
A report published in October 2015 states the council supports closing the busy road and City Square to general traffic, so it can create a 'world renowned gateway to the city'.
The council is still planning to close the roads to all vehicles, except taxis and buses, as part of a wider project to improve the city centre's road network, but cannot progress with the plans until Armley Gyratory has been redeveloped.
The plans for the Armley Gyratory redevelopment are expected to be made public later this year and no time scale has been revealed yet.
The 2015 council report states: "Transport investment from the 1970s has created a legacy where traffic dominates parts of our city, with roads engineered for capacity rather than streets that cater for people.
"Changing our highway infrastructure to create a more people friendly city centre will be challenging and take major capital funding.
"Creating a more people friendly, productive and accessible city centre will also require transformational change in the way we travel into and around the city centre."
Last year, Friends of the Earth said Neville Street is the most polluted road outside London.
The group claimed that the level of micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air (ug/m3) found on the busy road was more than twice the suggested limit of 40ug/m3.
The council is still working to reduce private car usage in Leeds, by investing £270 million in a project to improve public transport across the city.
It is also keen to improve the air quality across the city with various schemes, including the controversial Clean Air Zone.
In 2018, the World Health Organisation announced that Leeds was one of 31 towns and cities in the UK that had unsafe levels of air pollution.
And the International Council on Clean Transportation has stated there are only nine other cities in Europe where people have a higher chance of being killed by transport pollution.
Visit our dedicated Leeds News page for the biggest talking points from across the city.
LeedsLive has launched a WhatsApp group to keep you up to date with the latest news! Click here to join and follow the instructions on your phone. Your number won't be shared with anyone else in the group.
