DEMANDS have been made for traffic lights to be put up at a busy exit on to one of the city’s most clogged up roundabouts.

Motorists say the exit from Bayswater Road on to Oxford’s Green Road roundabout is dangerous and the site of near accidents. They want traffic lights to make it easier to get on to the roundabout plus cameras to stop drivers speeding above the 30mph limit across the roundabout. But demands for traffic lights were last night rejected by council officials.

A survey by the Oxford Mail revealed that in rush hour, it took motorists almost a minute to get on to the roundabout after queuing for long stretches to reach the head of the junction. Waits of several minutes are common with some saying they have waited 30 minutes to find a gap.

Wayneflete Road resident Brian Ashford, 72, said: “It is not safe, but nothing will get done until someone dies. They ought to slow the speed down. None of the cars stick to the 30mph speed limit.

“I saw one bloke who thought he had a chance to get across and was nearly hit by a boy racer. It’s suicidal.”

Stanton St John resident Anne Schuster, 55, takes her son to school via the junction. She said: “Outside peak time it is manageable, but during rush hour it is a nightmare.

“It is extremely poor that they seem to favour the through traffic on the major roads rather than the local residents.”

Serena Sumner, 39, of Barton Village Road, said the Barton exit needs traffic lights. At present, it is the only exit on to the roundabout that does not have lights.

She said: “A lot of people have complained that there are no traffic lights at our end.

“This means it can take ages to get out and sometimes it is more than 30 minutes.”

Malford Road resident Phylis Dolton said: “We need traffic lights to give us the chance to get in and out. The traffic builds up and motorists have to squeeze in.”

Matthew Green, 35, of Bassett Road, said: “It can be frustrating getting in and out of Barton. When I was working at WH Smith in Oxford it could take me an hour and a half to get to work.”

But Oxfordshire County Council said it would not install traffic lights at the Barton exit. A spokesman said: “The answer is that we are not putting any new signals in, but will be amending road markings at Headington roundabout.”

'Exit is dangerous with near-misses'

"I have travelled through Barton on to the Green Road roundabout for many years and I agree with Barton residents that it is a very dangerous exit, writes Tom Burrows.
 

At rush hour traffic is frequently stationary not just on Bayswater Road, but also Edgecombe Road which motorists use as a short cut.

On Friday morning, after queuing ,  it took just under three minutes to get on to the roundabout. I had less than four seconds to get out.  Another problem area is when drivers travelling along the A40 London Road from the east cut through the centre part of the Green Road roundabout to turn right into Barton.
This is a dangerous turn and I have seen many near misses by drivers making such a manoeuvre."