MOTORISTS travelling into Oxford took a staggering 14 minutes to complete one mile on the Botley Road last year.

Figures for 2014 show there were more vehicles than ever before travelling into Oxford and were taking longer than ever to complete their journeys.

Between October and December the average journey time for one mile on Botley Road in the morning was 14 minutes 26 seconds.

Beaumont Street and Hythe Bridge Street weren’t too much better with motorists spending on average 13 minutes 12 seconds to complete a mile between 7.30 and 9.30am.

Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith said he was aware of the problems and was trying to find solutions.

He said: “I could walk a mile in that time. That was when the Kennington Roundabout works were taking place and traffic was diverted on to the Botley Road.

“We are aware that at peak times the road network is not working very well and we are doing things to deal with it.

“We would like people to find other ways to travel into the city too whether it be by bus or by bike.”

Mr Nimmo Smith said additional park and rides in areas such as Cumnor and Eynsham and a charge for businesses with city centre parking spaces were being looked at and general road improvements were making things better.

He said: “I’m aware that there are a lot parking spaces in the city centre – public and private – and people are quite rightly driving in to make use of them.

“We have floated the idea of putting in a workplace parking charge.

“Businesses would have some parking spaces, for visitors, deliveries and disabled people but there would be a charge for any more with money being used for infrastructure projects.”

A county council congestion report for 2014 showed an increase in the number of vehicles travelling into the city each morning.

Figures show an average of 9,300 vehicles made the trip in to central Oxford during the morning peak compared with 9,200 in 2013 and 9,000 in 2012.

Simon Hunt, the head of cycling campaign group Cyclox, said this trend had to be reversed.

He said: “Bikes are the best congestion-busting device there is, if they were more widely-used everybody would benefit.

Cycling, particularly along the Botley Road, is a natural way to travel even though the surface is abysmal.

“Not everyone can but a lot of people in the congestion, those contributing to it, could do something about it by getting a bike or car sharing.”

City councillor for Osney Susanna Pressel, which covers the Botley Road said: “This has been a problem for decades in spite of good initiatives like the park and ride car parks and bus lanes.

“It’s worrying to see it getting worse.”

She added: “Making walking and cycling more attractive is vital, at present potential cyclists feel unsafe because of the volume of traffic, the aggression of some drivers and the lack of cycle lanes.”

Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Clair Prosser said congestion causes major problems for workers and employers in the city.

She said: “Congestion is very costly for businesses, staff not being in the office is costly but also there is the stress and health of the commuter to think about.

“We do appreciate that roadworks will lead to further improvements – you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

“We would urge businesses to consider more flexible hours to maybe avoid school runs, it’s a 24-hour global market nowadays.

“Where possible people should be car sharing and using public transport too.”

July to September 2014 saw a slightly more sedate affair on the roads leading into Oxford.

It still took motorists on average nine-and-a-half minutes to travel a mile on the Botley Road and just under nine minutes on Beaumont Street and Hythe Bridge Street.

April to June last year was another frustrating period for those commuting by car with a 10-minute mile average for Botley Road and a 12 minute mile in Beaumont Street and Hythe Bridge Street.

Those using the Woodstock Road would have had the most joy last year with a three minute 44 second-average mile between July and September.