This is why traffic gridlock in Leeds is getting worse - and how it can be improved

Last week the city came to a standstill for most of the day as police closed part of Armley Gyratory after a man fell from the bridge.

On Wednesday night this week, cars barely moved around Albion Street and The Headrow after a temporary signal light failed.

And an ambulance was stuck in gridlocked traffic on Boar Lane at the weekend.

Why is this happening?

A perfect storm of roadworks across the city, more and more people driving into Leeds and the city's 'Motorway city of the seventies' legacy being no longer fit for purpose mean the slightest issue somewhere on the road network can cause chaos miles away.

It leads to endless hours of frustration for motorists and bus passengers every day.

But what can be done?

The council is spending millions to transform transport through its Connecting Leeds programme - but there are no easy answers or quick fixes to the city's problems, though it will almost certainly involve fewer cars, as well as the mass transit system that has eluded Leeds for so long.

The council's own chief Highways and Transportation officer, Gary Bartlett, has said his vision is for Leeds to be a city where you don't need to own a car.

And a senior figure at First Bus West Yorkshire - giving his own personal view on social media - has called on the council to 'make buses the solution and ban cars from the few roads left in Leeds'.

"Something needs to happen about the state of Leeds City Centre," he wrote.

Transport campaigner Rob Greenland put it simply.

"We tend to look for reasons or excuses - a road closure or traffic lights being out - but there are just too many of us travelling into the city centre at the same time," he said.

Figures show that 750,000 vehicles every weekday use roads approaching Leeds City Centre.

During the morning commute, there are 77,000 people travelling towards the city centre in cars and in 83 per cent of cases there is only one person in the vehicle.

"We just can't cope with it," Mr Greenland added.

He is less sympathetic to people who complain about bus and cycle lanes.

"You can move far more people around the city more efficiently if more of them walk, cycle or take public transport, rather than driving," he said

"For people to take the bus, you need to prioritise bus travel - and that means creating bus lanes - which may result in short term delays as they're built.

"Similarly, roadworks to build cycle lanes will cause congestion - but encouraging more people who currently drive to cycle some of their journeys instead will help us to tackle congestion, whilst also having other positive impacts like reducing air pollution."

Mark Parry, who lives in Beeston and campaigns on transport issues, walked to Leeds Playhouse from his home after seeing the chaos last week.