Oxford was left gridlocked on Sunday afternoon after the city's half marathon, with even an ambulance on blue lights stuck in the traffic chaos.

Drivers experienced long delays across the city after the end of the event on Sunday, worsened by a crash in North Oxford.

Congestion was evident between the city centre up to the A40 North Way heading westbound towards Cutteslowe Roundabout.

Abingdon Road was affected in both directions between Hinksey and the Folly Bridge as well as Thames Street.

READ MORE: Oxford Half Marathon: Live updates from the race

An engineer from North Oxford, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s all well and good closing off the roads for runners, but surely the county council could have given it a miss this year while the city’s already hit with the closure of Botley Road.

“The knock-on effects hit the A34, so it is now impacting the national road system. I saw an ambulance on blue lights stuck in traffic near Wolvercote roundabout with no way of getting through the traffic.

“Questions need to be asked of the council as to why this was allowed.”

A mother of two who asked not to be named said: “It was a two-hour trip to drive from Summertown to the railway station.

“Large buses were being diverted through Jericho and blocking the narrow streets, preventing anything from getting through. Nothing was moving.”

Replacement bus services linking Oxford and Didcot were also stuck in traffic, adding to the pain of passengers unable to complete a journey to the city by train.

Ryan Richard Shepherd, owner of Oxford Vehicle Transport, said: "With all the LTNs and 20mph zones I think everyone is better off jogging in Oxford now.”

“The half marathon has added to the traffic but having the Botley Road shut has not helped,” added Emma Honey, from Witney.

Rebecca Davies, from Oxford, said it took her 90 minutes to drive from Woodstock Road to Littlemore, while Mary Biclou said her drive from Abingdon to Hinksey Park took over an hour.

The county council has been approached for comment with regards to letting the half marathon take place in the city while Botley Road remains closed.

Roads closed for the event included the South Parks section of Parks Road, Museum Road, Magdalen Street East, St Giles (southbound carriageway), Banbury Road, Marston Ferry Road and Cherwell Drive.

At around 1pm a crash on Banbury Road just north of Sunnymead was reported.

A spokesperson for AA Traffic said the delays caused by the crash were not being helped by the Oxford Half Marathon road closures.

Around 13,000 people competed in the race, with thousands lining the streets to spectate.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1