JUST as we hoped to see wave goodbye to 2014 as the year of traffic misery in Oxford, it now emerges we may have an unlucky 13 weeks of more commuting hell.

Oxfordshire County Council drew some rare praise in October when it shelved temporarily the work to revamp The Plain to make it safer for cyclists.

This was right at the height when motorists were almost in revolt given the delays caused by a string of projects, most notably the Kennington roundabout work and London Road in Headington.

The city’s roads simply could not take another sticking point.

But it was always known the scheme was just on hold. It is, to be fair, too important to just leave because it will cause some inconvenience.

However, we have to question again the timing of it given it will clash with work on the Westgate redevelopment and Frideswide Square.

This scheme will see, at various times, closures to Cowley Road, St Clement’s and Iffley Road.

It is troubling that David Nimmo Smith, the lead councillor for transport, appeared to dismiss the work at Frideswide Square as it was on the opposite end of the city centre.

Geographically he’s right, but we saw during the autumn that road schemes miles apart all contributed to a nightmare scenario.

Oxford’s roads, we all know, are too narrow and too congested. Every day they balance on a knife-edge, with just one or two incidents creating disproportionate knock-on effects.

Look at yesterday, where the mad late dash for Christmas gifts brought evening gridlock.

The Plain work has to be done. We just hope the county council can plan out its future infrastructure improvements next year in a way that doesn’t appear to be indifferent to the chaos it causes.