Cardiff's Castle Street looks set to remain open to traffic. The road was shut to all traffic in summer 2020 before reopening to just buses and taxis in the autumn of that year. Following a public consultation, Castle Street was re-opened to general traffic in June 2021 as a temporary measure.
With disruption to traffic expected in Cardiff through future construction work, like the development of a new tram line to the Bay, it is hoped that making the move permanent will improve traffic flow in the city. Air quality modelling has also shown that banning general traffic on Castle Street would lead to an increase in nitrogen dioxide concentrations on the city's wider road network.
The council's cabinet member for strategic planning and transport, Councillor Dan De'Ath, said: "The modelling data shows that allowing all traffic to use Castle Street does marginally improve the overall air quality in the city centre and the surrounding road network. When transport planning, we must ensure that there are adequate routes from the east of the city to the west and vice versa, not only for motorists, but for cyclists and pedestrians as well.
