New restrictions on vehicles loading have been introduced in Oxford where a cyclist was killed last March.

Oxfordshire County Council has approved a peak hour loading ban at The Plain, which is where Dr Ling Felce, 35, died after being involved in a collision with a lorry at the roundabout on March 1, 2022.

The peak hour loading ban will run between 7am and 10am and 4.30pm and 7pm and aims to improve safety at the roundabout for the most vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire 20mph schemes approved in meeting

It comes in the same week that the city council tabled plans for a safety standard that would have to be adhered to by all construction vehicles in a bid to reduce the number of collisions with cyclists. 

Oxfordshire councillor and cabinet member for highway management Andrew Gant said: “We know that any measures to improve safety and visibility at this busy roundabout will be welcomed by the thousands of people who use it every day.”

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The council said the plans seek to safeguard school transport services and reduce delays to buses.

The changes were approved on April 27 at a delegated decisions meeting by Mr Gant.

The council has promised to consulted with householders, businesses and landlords in the area to investigate alternative arrangements for loading.

READ MORE: 'Major loopholes' in Oxford council's HGV safety commitment claim

The new measures tie in with Oxfordshire County Council’s Vision Zero strategy, which aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads to zero by 2050.

Only last November, work was carried out to improve safety for cyclists.

The work included amendments to road markings, traffic signs, installation of road studs, bollards and cycle stands and installing light cycle lane segregation units.

READ MORE: Oxford: New plans to reduce number of crashes with HGVs

In the past, the roundabout has been branded the second most dangerous in the country for cyclists.

The junction of Iffley Road, Cowley Road, St Clement’s and the High Street at Magdalen Bridge saw 45 collisions reported to police between 2009 and 2015 according to figures from data firm Mapmechanics reported in The Sunday Times.

It came second only to Lambeth Bridge roundabout in London, in a list of blackspots.

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He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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