I FOLLOWED Ian Hudspeth’s advice to seek alternative ways to get to work during the debacle that is the result of the ill-advised decision to carry out the A40 roadworks at the same time as the Frideswide Square work.

I ended up on a bus, which was stuck in such awful traffic it took 30 minutes to travel from George Sreet to Frideswide Square.

My total journey time from work in Headington to home in Eynsham, took just over 1h45 mins; compare this with my usual journey time of 45 mins by car at this time of day, before the North Oxford traffic chaos.

This will only get worse once the roads are back to full capacity in September.

It does not take a mastermind to estimate the traffic jams that would result if you restrict traffic flow from three main routes into Oxford. The suggestion that this is a minor inconvenience for a long-term gain is ridiculous.

I am doubtful if there will be any long term gain and 16 months of travel misery is most definitely not appropriately described as ‘short-term pain’.

It is completely unacceptable to expect the residents of West Oxfordshire and anyone trying to travel around North Oxford to tolerate this level of traffic chaos for almost a year and a half.

It doesn’t matter which route/method of transport you opt for.

If you live west or north of Oxford you’re going to get stuck in standstill traffic on the way in. Tolerable for a couple of months, but not for 16.

Ian Hudspeth and his inept colleagues at OCC need to be held accountable for the appalling planning decisions that will inevitably have a negative impact for businesses in North Oxford, as well as causing huge inconvenience to road users.

Let’s see how long they plan to inflict further traffic jams on users of the A40 when they implement their wonderful plans for a bus lane from Eynsham to Wolvercote roundabout in 2017/18.

I’d hazard a guess at two or three years at their current work rate.

A BAILEY
Hazeldene Close, Eynsham