Motorists have been complaining about traffic congestion today after one lane of Newarke Street, Leicester, was closed.The city mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, wants to shut one lane of Newarke Street permanently to extend New Walk as far as the Magazine Gateway.
A trial closure of the far left lane began yesterday and following this morning's rush hour motorists complained the change was adding up to 10 minutes onto journey times.
Martin Tolley, who owns the Spar shop near the west end of Newarke Street, said: "It's a disaster. It's been gridlocked for a lot of the time and two of my delivery drivers didn't get through so customers are complaining there's no sandwiches or fresh bread.
"Closing a lane of Newarke Street is a crazy idea."Leicester City Council said it was closely monitoring the situation. No announcement has been made about how long the trial closure will continue for.
