PLANS to improve safety along a stretch of the notorious bends on the main road though Marcham are just around the corner.

Oxfordshire County Council is planning a temporary trial period of traffic signals for one-way working and a temporary footpath on a narrow section of Packhorse Lane.

The exact location is undecided, but is expected to be resolved following a site meeting later this month between county council officers and councillors.

Villagers are being urged to send in their views by next Monday. The parish council meets two days later.

Work will not start until after the major roadworks on the A34 are finished at the end of the month, to avoid more disruption.

Also invited to the site meeting is Sally Timberlake, one of the founders of Packhorse Lane Action group Safety (Plags), who lives near the bend.

Last year she was brushed by a car near the bends while walking her dog. Another Plags member Jackie King was hit by a car while coming out of her house carrying her young daughter in a car seat.

Mrs Timberlake said: "We've been fighting for the safety of everyone - pedestrians, cyclists and motorists - who have to negotiate this dangerous bend.

"We welcome the proposals but we don't know yet where the lights will be sited.

"There is a 200 metre stretch of road without a footpath.

"Lessons will be learned from the trial period, but it is an exciting and long overdue first step towards making the road safer for everyone."

There are concerns that Church Street, North Street and Howard Cornish Way could be used as "rat runs" to avoid the lights in Packhorse Lane.

Parish council chairman William Cumber said: "We welcome the proposal and are solidly behind the Plags group whose members have made the running on this issue. We will be meeting with county council officers to discuss the nuts and bolts of the proposal and where it should be sited."

Now that a bypass plan has disappeared off the radar screen for the foreseeable future after more than 60 years of campaigning, both the parish council and Plags are hoping for safety improvements along the busy road which is the main through route for traffic between Abingdon and Witney.

Mr Cumber said: "The proposals are a welcome step forward, but the trial period will have to be monitored to see if it's a long term solution.

"The lights might create long queues through the village and add to pollution."