A solution may never be found to relieve congestion at a busy roundabout, which is expected to get worse now the Bingley Relief Road is open.
A Bradford councillor has warned that designs being drawn up to combat congestion at the Saltaire roundabout, where the A650 meets the A657, will only alleviate problems in the short-term.
The busy roundabout is expected to see up to 30 per cent more traffic as the Bingley Relief Road, which opened last Monday, attracts more motorists.
Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, executive member for transport at Bradford Council admitted it was unlikely a satisfactory alternative would be found.
The need for better traffic management at the roundabout and surrounding neighbourhoods, which experience rat-running as a result, has already been raised at a number of neighbourhood forums, and in a letter circulated by Shipley MP Chris Leslie.
Two radical schemes to relieve the predicted congestion - building a road tunnel from Cottingley Bar to Shipley, dubbed the Shipley Shunnel, and building a single carriageway through playing fields at Northcliffe - were shelved by Bradford Council in September this year amid protests from local residents.
Instead it was agreed to invest money into minor transport management schemes, including extending a bus route, blocking off rat-runs in neighbouring areas such as Nab Wood, and improving public transport.
Coun Hawkesworth (Ilkley, Cons) said: "There is going to be a serious problem there and I am fearful that the traffic management schemes the council has come forward with will not relieve the situation. Possibly they will in the short term, but in the longer term I don't think so."
While highways officers are working on an alternative design for the area, nothing has been finalised.
Shipley's Labour MP Chris Leslie said the Council must act quickly.
Mr Leslie said: "I very much hope the Bingley Relief Road will see a reduction, over time, in the evening rat-running through Nab Wood - because drivers will no longer feel the urge to dodge queues backing up from Bingley.
"But the Bingley Relief Road will not solve all of the traffic problems for this district; we will need to have better traffic management on the A650 to Saltaire roundabout, and a rationalisation of the road network, using the existing road space more cleverly, as it circulates around Shipley."
Ward councillor Martin Love (Shipley West, Green) said he was also concerned about the impact the traffic will have on the roundabout: "New roads always produce more traffic and the department of transport has said it is expecting a 30 per cent increase in traffic through Shipley as a result of the new road."
A Council highways spokesman said: "Our officers are working on an alternative design for this area but nothing has been finalised yet."
Councillor Phil Thornton (Lab, Shipley East) said Shipley needed its own relief road. He said: "It is obvious the run of traffic bypassing Bingley will cause tremendous congestion in Saltaire. It is a fact we have been fully aware of for many years."
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