CYCLISTS scared to brave the ‘dangerous’ layout on one of Oxford’s main roads want to fast-track plans to boost safety.

Campaigners have raised concerns about Iffley Road and are petitioning Oxfordshire County Council for better segregation across key city cycling routes.

Eleanor Watts, a member of Rose Hill and Iffley Low Carbon, said: “Many of us are frightened to get on our bikes.

“As a community, we need to make it safer to cycle if we want residents of Oxford to enjoy clean air, quiet streets, less congestion and fitness.

“At present, residents risk their lives when they cycle to the city centre along the Iffley Road and around the dangerous roundabout at The Plain.”

The Rose Hill resident’s petition, which lobbies both the county and city councils, urges the authorities to ‘invest massively in a segregated, joined-up network of cycle tracks throughout the city’.

It has been signed by 1,200 supporters, including Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds, and will be presented to county council leader Ian Hudspeth on Tuesday, March 27.

Two years ago Iffley Road was classified by the county council as one of seven ‘cycle super routes’, which it said should be adapted with additional safety features.

These included ‘complete or semi-segregation wherever possible’, cycle lane width of at least 1.5 metres, and parking bans at peak times.

Currently a cycle lane runs along the mile-long road, but in some spots cars are permitted to park across it, pushing bikes into the path of traffic.

At other points the cycle lane stops abruptly at on-street parking bays.

Where buses have to overtake lines of parked cars, such as by the Charles Street junction, cars on the other side are forced to drive in the cycle lane to make room.

County councillor Helen Evans said: “Most days I cycle on Iffley Road and can vouch for how dangerous it is without segregated lanes.

“It’s a busy bus route with cyclists squeezed between buses, oncoming cars and parked cars. If we’re serious about reducing air pollution and getting people on their bikes, we urgently need a corridor study of this road and [neighbouring] Cowley Road.”

According to CycleStreets data published by the Oxford Mail in November, there were 44 crashes involving cyclists on Iffley Road between 2005 and 2016, and dozens more at The Plain roundabout.

Rose Hill resident Katie Hoare, who walks her son daily to Larkrise Primary School off Iffley Road, said: “Most parents are frightened to let their kids cycle to school because the roads are too dangerous.”

A county council spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the concerns raised by cycle user groups along Iffley Road and are committed to delivering a cycle super route along this road in line with our transport strategy.

"We will be looking at opportunities through the Government's recently announced £6.5m cycle safety fund to get the funding needed."