 In 2003, Gökçek tried to ban the pedestrian crossing in Ankara's busiest crossroads, demanding that pedestrians walk through the underpasses.Activists protested the city center being closed off completely from pedestrians and declared that the mayor unilaterally taking such a decision was against the law.Gökçek announced that he would call for a referendum; a court eventually found the mayor's proposal unlawful on the basis that Gökçek had bused in supporters from Ankara Province's rural areas to vote in favor of his pedestrian ban.