ON Friday, October 21, I watched as a young girl on a pedal cycle, aged 12, collided with a car at the notorious Temple Road/Oxford Road junction in Cowley.

In the past there was a school crossing patrol, lighter traffic and rush hour was mainly pedal bikes from the Cowley Works. Now there is extremely heavy traffic, especially at school start and finish times, and the only way to cross is to await a friendly driver on both parts of the narrow carriageway.

Young people in particular find signals from drivers hard to interpret and there are numerous near-misses daily. Young school children, harassed parents, older people trying to reach the library or shops; all are dependent on someone stopping to allow them to cross.

The young girl today was exceptionally lucky, though very shaken and her bike badly damaged. So was the driver of the car, who had been stationary and was just starting to move very slowly when the young girl appeared to mis-read the traffic.

The very high volume of vehicles and pedestrian traffic means it is only time before there is a more serious accident at this spot.

Before that happens, please can city and county councils urgently consider provision of an appropriate crossing at this site? A zebra crossing would simply be neither sufficient nor safe.

HILARY GRIME Cowley Oxford