Furious residents have hit out at the council for not removing a ‘dangerous’ traffic calming measure that has caused several accidents.

The chicane on Oxford Road in Horspath encourages vehicles coming into the village to slow down and give priority to those coming out.

But residents say the chicane creates a real risk of head-on collisions.

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Former parish councillor Colin Mutton said: “The chicane is on a bend so when you go into the village, having waited to let others come out, you are often confronted with more vehicles coming around the corner.

“The chicane is so badly positioned, and the visibility is so short.

“Over the years there have been many accidents caused by this chicane, the first being between an ambulance and a van.

“There has even been one where a car ended up on its side in the ditch, which is at the side of the chicane.”

Seven years ago, Horspath Parish Council voted unanimously to have the chicane removed and replace it with speed cushions on the road.

Oxford Mail:

Parish council chairman Beverley Oakley said: “The pillows would safely slow traffic down.

“With all the problems on the ring road, Horspath is now an established rat-run at rush hour.

“The amount of traffic coming through the village is immense.”

Mr Mutton explained that he is now calling on the county council to remove the chicane.

He said: “Oxfordshire County Council have incurred our village with thousands of pounds worth of expenses to pay for surveys of the chicane, which have come to nothing.

“The parish council even agreed to pay for the work, but my thoughts are that Oxfordshire County Council should pay having established this dangerous spot in the first place.”

But despite the concerns of residents, the county council has maintained that the chicane is ‘safe’.

Marc Evans, a spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “It is the opinion of Oxfordshire County Council, and based on speed surveys, that the buildout [chicane] has and continues to perform well in terms of road safety and speed reduction.

"As such, we are not inclined to remove it.

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“The parish council wants to fund the removal of the buildout and replace it with a pair of speed cushions.

Oxford Mail: Residents in Horspath are not happy Residents in Horspath are not happy (Image: Ed Nix)

“However, traffic calming guidance does not recommend speed cushions on their own as an entry feature to a village because there is potential for vehicles to encounter the vertical deflection at a relatively high entry speed.

“We have informed the parish council that we would be happy for a single speed cushion to be located alongside the buildout, which is a standard county council entry feature.

“However, they have not taken this idea up.”