Proposals for a major shake-up to how traffic uses Norwich's Prince of Wales Road by creating a 'new gateway' to the city centre are to be revealed next month.
The potential closure to general traffic of Prince of Wales Road has long been mooted as a later stage of the multi-million Transport for Norwich project.
And plans are being readied to go before city and county councillors in January.
Proposals to extend the bus route from St Stephen Street along Prince of Wales Road have been in the Norwich Area Transport Strategy since 2013, and the road could be returned to a two-way system, with only buses, taxis and cyclists allowed.
And council officers, having carried out traffic surveys of the street last year, have also been working on traffic modelling for Prince of Wales Road and the surrounding area.
While the precise details of the proposals will not be revealed until next month, a planning application to demolish a toilet which has been in the street since 1990 has shed light on the plans.
In the application, lodged by Norwich City Council, it states: 'As a new gateway scheme is going ahead in the area which will change the layout of the junction of Prince of Wales Road and Rose Lane, the existing autoloo/toilet block has been proposed to be demolished.
'The existing toilet block sits on top of the proposed carriageway and it requires demolition for the scheme to progress.
'It is also understood that the toilet block has not been in use for the past few years and replacing it with other gateway features will improve the area aesthetically.'
A spokeswoman for Transport for Norwich said the toilet's automatic operating and cleaning system had 'presented problems in terms of ongoing use and maintenance' and was no longer needed, with new toilets in the £7m Rose Lane car park.
She said: 'Plans for changes in and around Prince of Wales Road will be put forward early next year and this will include proposals to improve the appearance of the route from the railway station into Norwich, making it an appropriate time to apply for the building's demolition.'
The Transport for Norwich project, linked to the Norwich Northern Distributor Road, has seen changes in other streets around the city, including Golden Ball Street, Westlegate, All Saints Green and Ber Street.
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