Welsh Government has told Cardiff to reconsider traffic arrangements and consider permanently closing Castle Street.
It was shut to traffic during the Covid pandemic in summer 2020 and then gradually reopened but modified with restricted lanes.
The Welsh government has now told the city council to find alternatives to cut pollution. The council said its cabinet will take a permanent decision by early 2023.
During the pandemic it became an al fresco dining space and traffic was forced to use alternative streets to go across the city which led to complaints from motorists, bus users and delivery companies supplying retailers in the city centre while it also caused conjestion in surrounding streets.
The council has a poor clean air record and previously proposed a congestion charge, which was greeted with outrage from commuters in the Valleys who said there is no viable alternative public transport service into the Capital and the fee would unjustifiably penalise the lower paid.
