BROAD Street could be free from traffic under proposals from Bob Price.

The city council leader has said Oxford’s new £80m Weston Library should pave the way for pedestrianising the street.

The library, which has its main entrance opening onto Broad Street, attracted 30,000 visitors in a week after opening its doors to the public on March 21.

Oxford City Council and Oxford Preservation Trust are leading renewed efforts to remove vehicles and tour buses from Broad Street to create a public space worthy of its iconic buildings.

Mr Price, said: “The city will be responding to the county council’s consultation on the new Oxford Transport Strategy with a strong case for pedestrianising the whole of Broad Street, allowing appropriate access of course to the colleges and to Turl Street.

“The superb way in which the Weston Library now opens up the eastern end of Broad Street makes it vital that we create a really beautiful space for people to use on foot without the volume of traffic that is currently generated by car park spaces and tourist buses.”

He said the council had already drawn up plans to create a traffic calming pedestrian priority scheme.

It would have raised road surfaces from outside Wadham College in Parks Road to the Catte Street/ Holywell Street junction and along Broad Street to Blackwells.

Mr Price added: “This scheme has university approval and is being taken forward through private fundraising by the Broad Street Trust, chaired by Roger Ainsworth.”

The Weston’s lead architect Jim Eyre said the library and the enthusiastic response it had received should now prove the catalyst for badly-needed improvements to Broad Street.

He said: “The status quo is simply not good enough. It’s all to do with the setting of the buildings in Broad Street.

“I believe they deserve a better setting in terms of a grand plan.”

His company WilkinsonEyre released an image showing how what a pedestrianised upper section of Broad Street could look like.

Making Broad Street low traffic or traffic-free is an ambition of Oxfordshire County Council, which is the highways authority. Leader Ian Hudspeth said: “One of the challenges is where all the traffic would be rerouted and whether you would open the bottom end of Broad Street to allow access to the Covered Market and colleges.

“It could create something fantastic in the centre of Oxford."

He warned that financing the scheme remained a major problem, with major government funding focusing on creating employment and County Hall focusing on “maintaining the integrity of the road network.”

Debbie Dance, director of Oxford Preservation Trust, said: “The pedestrianisation of Broad Street is something we have long wanted, going back to 2004 when a plan for The Broad was produced.

“The Weston is a massive success and shows just what can be achieved.”

Oxford University spokesman Matt Pickles said: “We are happy to play a full part in discussions around the proposals.

"We hope they would involve all interested parties including shops and cafes who might be affected by the loss of parking spaces.”