Fans of Central Park, led by some elected officials, want Mayor Bloomberg to prohibit cars from entering the roadway loop around the park for a three-month trial period this summer.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and other elected officials plan to deliver a car-free Central Park petition with more than 100,000 signatures to Bloomberg during a rally at City Hall this month.

"There's really no good reason that cars should be roaming Central Park," Stringer told the Daily News. "Cars just don't mix with this park."

In a letter last November to Transportation Alternatives, the advocacy group leading the campaign, city Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall wrote that closing the loop to cars would "adversely affect congestion and pollution levels throughout Manhattan."

"While we continue to investigate opportunities to limit traffic on the Central Park loop, it remains a critical transportation link for commuters, and we are unable to prohibit vehicles from using the loop at this time," Weinshall said.

This week, aides to Weinshall and Bloomberg declined to comment on the parkgoers' request, referring all inquiries to the city's Parks Department.

Warner Johnston, a Parks spokesman, said the city is "reviewing their proposal."

Park advocates, who will rally Sunday, March 26, argue the summer is an ideal time to close the park's traffic loop for a trial period because recreational demand is at its highest and traffic volume at its lowest.

Graham Beck, the car-free campaign coordinator for Transportation Alternatives, said advocates recently received "strong encouragement" from inside the Bloomberg administration. He declined to comment further.

In 2004, the city announced it would reduce traffic in Central Park by closing four car entrances and barring cars for all but seven hours each weekday.

The loop is now open to cars weekdays from 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. The park is car-free 79% of the time, city officials said.

Ken Coughlin, chairman of the car-free campaign, called the three-month trial a "reasonable" compromise, given that park users hope cars will be permanently barred from the loop.

He said it's an ideal way for the city to test its fears that closing the loop would wreak havoc on traffic.

"It's a park. It shouldn't be used as a traffic artery," Coughlin said. "It was created to be a refuge to the surrounding urban din."