Angry school parents and local residents staged the second protest this year in Woodstock over the increasingly dangerous A44 "and lack of action from various councils to sort it out".
Protestors dressed as the popular video game character Pikachu called for improved road safety in April, saying a footpath to the primary school was "an accident waiting to happen".
Woodstock resident and Woodstock Primary School parent Ed King said: "We are here to make it clear how unhappy we are with the state of the A44 through Woodstock.
"This is a dangerous road with narrow pavements providing little protection against the huge lorries, tractors, vans and thousands of cars that use the road every day.
"It doesn’t have to be this way. Woodstock Town Council and Oxford County Council have it in their power to fix it.
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"We want to see a safer road with slower traffic and better pavements: for that we need both councils to work together fast on a 20mph zone and an off-road route... and get it done by 2023.
"The lack of urgency when huge juggernauts are careering through Woodstock risking the safety of kids is flabbergasting."
Woodstock resident and Woodstock Primary school parent Ollie Lanestead added: “All we’re asking from our elected officials is to take this issue seriously and do their job. Is that too much to ask?
"It’s fairly obvious that none of them live in Old Woodstock and walk kids to school every day – if they did experience this they might show more concern.”
Former Town Mayor, Colin Carritt, a campaigner for safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists, and former traffic engineer at Oxfordshire County Council, attended today's protest.
He said: "It's not just speed limits that are needed. We need more and better pedestrian crossings, better pavements and more protection for people on bikes.
"The county council has recently put more emphasis on active travel but we need them to put their words into action on this very busy A road."
Mr King said it was "really unclear what’s holding them back".
County councillor Andy Graham, who is leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, has been supportive of the push for a 20mph speed limit.
He said: "There is no hold up as far as the county council is concerned.
"As you know the county council is rolling out 30 to 20 mph reduced schemes in over 60 towns and villages.
"Woodstock Town Council have asked to be put on the list but they have not submitted exactly what they want and where.
"I am waiting for this before the scheme can be drawn up and approved. This will then go to the cabinet member, Andrew Gant, for delegated decision and then the work can be scheduled.
"I am disappointed this has taken longer than expected. I am ready and waiting and have said so on a number of occasions.
"I support the campaigners the sooner the safer the better!"
Mr Carritt said: "In a nutshell, it's more cock up than conspiracy, but given that the campaign for better road safety on the A44 has been of on-going concern for more that 20 years, those of us on the campaign feel that some urgency is now desperately needed."
He said the town council voted to apply for a 20mph speed limit in Spring but a formal resolution of support was not communicated to the county council due to not having a town clerk.
When it was realised that the Town Council needed to provide more detail, a working group was set up and a report submitted in time for the November meeting but for unclear reasons was not put on the agenda.
It was then reconvened for the December meeting and was deferred due to the Mayor Cllr Elizabeth Poskitt being unwell.
Mr Carritt said: "To those of us on the campaign this delay seemed unreasonable given that the Mayor was a member of the working group whose views were unanimous.
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"We felt there was no reason not to formally approve the report and to send it forthwith to OCC."
A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said: "We are keen to make our roads and streets safer for all users, especially the most vulnerable, which is why we adopted the Vision Zero policy earlier this year.
"This aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on Oxfordshire’s roads by 2050.
"In Woodstock, we are currently designing an improved safety barrier to replace the railings outside the Black Prince pub, and we are also looking at some traffic calming measures through the town."
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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris
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