Birmingham's city centre Queensway tunnels, notorious for traffic chaos, could be lengthened under plans being considered by Labour councillors.
A party think tank is proposing connecting the St Chad's and Queensway tunnels to make Great Charles Street a "pedestrian-friendly boulevard".
The scheme, involving building a new tunnel, would reconnect the central business district to the Jewellery Quarter and make it easier for people to move between the two areas, according to Labour.
The idea, which was first floated in the 1980s, is contained in a policy discussion document which sets out the views of the city council's Labour opposition group on the growth of Birmingham up to 2015.
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The Home Secretary has given the green light to proposals for a regional police service to replace four Midland forces.
In letters sent to chief constables this week, Charles Clarke backed the proposal.
A full-scale merger would involve combining West Midlands Police, Staffordshire Police, Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police to create a regional "strategic force".
A second option is to create two forces, by merging Warwickshire with West Midlands Police, and merging Staffordshire with West Mercia.
But Mr Clarke has ruled out allowing forces such as Staffordshire or West Mercia Police to continue as an independent bodies.
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A three-year-old Birmingham boy born without four ribs has become the youngest person in the country to have a metal replacement fitted instead.
The operation has meant that Callum Read, from Kings Heath, is now able to live a normal life.
Callum was only born after his parents underwent IVF treatment, and then beat the odds to survive.
His mother Lucie, aged 40, said: "He is so brave and we are very proud of him."
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Just one glance at the three-metre high portraits on display in Victoria Square is evidence that hepatitis C sufferers come from all walks of life.
But while more than 200,000 people in England are estimated to be suffering from the potentially fatal virus, 80 per cent do not know they have it.
The photographs, of people from across the country, were taken by photographer Michele Martinoli, who has herself been successfully treated for the virus.
She said: "There is a social stigma around the disease caused by lack of awareness. It's important that we bring hepatitis C out of the shadows to get people to face up to the illness in the same way we did with HIV in the 1980s and 90s."
See Friday's Birmingham Post for more on these stories
