The M8 motorway through Glasgow has been branded as an "urban blight" as MSPs were urged to consider "green" alternatives.
An online petition shared on the Scottish Parliament website last year called for transport bosses to investigate ways of "reducing the impact of the M8" between Townhead and the Kingston Bridge.
It was started by campaigner Peter Kelly who is behind the popular Replace the M8 Twitter account.
MSPs on the public petitions committee today agreed to ask for more detailed submissions on the subject from relevant stakeholders including Transport Scotland and Glasgow City Council.
Paul Sweeney, a Labour MSP who sits on the committee, pointed to the examples of other cities around the world which have either demolished or re-routed urban motorways.
"Glasgow is the only city in the Western world, apart from Detroit, which had a million people living in it and then declined," he said.
"It lost a third of its population in the space of 30 years, from 1960 to 1990.
"So the urban blight caused by the motorway, along with adjacent redevelopment, continues to have a negative impact on the city and on the environment."
Sweeney added a recent survey had found noise pollution at Charing Cross was the equivalent of standing on the runway at Glasgow Airport.
The section of the M8 through Townhead and Cowcaddens has proved controversial since its opening in 1970 due to the destruction it caused at the time and the pollution it has generated since.
The original motorway viaduct at Woodside is now crumbling and at least £35 million is being spent to prevent it from collapsing.
Campaigners argue alternatives to simply restoring the motorway should be considered.
Scott Galloway, a supporter of Replace the M8, previously told STV News: "I’d love to see a green corridor that exists all the way from the river, all the way up to the north of the city.
“That would include boulevardisation, lots of street trees, making it a very accessible and friendly environment for people to use.”
Transport Scotland - which has responsibility for trunk roads - has previously said the works on the M8 Woodside viaduct were "essential to maintain the strategic connectivity of this vital part of the trunk road network".
A spokesman added: "Maintenance of this section of the road was always scheduled at this time, but the required works will be more extensive than originally planned.
“A number of potential remedies were considered but the propping solution was assessed as the best option in terms of timescale and value for the public purse."
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