CYCLING campaigners have launched a petition calling on the council to redesign a junction branded dangerous.

Cyclists in Oxford have rallied to put pressure on Oxfordshire County Council to rethink the junction at Hythe Bridge Street and George Street.

In January, the Cyclists’ Touring Club wrote to the council raising concerns about the design of the busy junction.

In response the council said a sign would be installed to ensure motorists knew that cyclists were able to cross into George Street.

Eleven months on and cyclists are still calling the junction a danger point.

Pratima Mitchell, of Upper Fisher Row, said: “There is no path for cyclists, you just have to pray that the car behind you is going to see your hand signal when you want to turn into George Street. Someone has been knocked down and badly hurt.

“I have been writing letters for the last three months.

“I approached the council asking them to look into the high volume of traffic and they said to me that the traffic has decreased. I don’t know where those figures are from!”

Mrs Mitchell, an author who started the petition, said it is not clear when it is safe for cyclists to cross over into George Street and fast-turning vehicles swing round into Hythe Bridge Street from Worcester Street, missing cyclists by inches.

The petition says: “One solution might be to copy the lights on the corner of the High and Longwall – low-level traffic lights designed for cyclists, giving a few seconds before cars and buses are given the go-ahead. This enables bikes to move to a wider part of Magdalen Bridge before buses can overtake them.”

Graham Smith, executive member of cycling group Cyclox, said: “It is outrageous that there are not more physical things in the road to stop motorists cutting in front of cyclists. There is no sign to motorists coming down from Worcester Street to the junction that there will be cyclists crossing in front of them. It is insane. It could be made to work much better.”

Bike Zone, in St Michael’s Street, has seen a rise in cyclists coming into the shop for repairs as a result of the junction. A spokesman said: “We have had customers come to the shop who have had accidents directly linked with that junction. We’re approaching double figures and these are just the people who have come to the shop.”

The petition, which was started last Wednesday, has already gained 590 signatures and was given to the council yesterday.

County council spokesman Owen Morton said: “We are continuing to monitor the situation and will consider the concerns raised in the petition. The phasing of traffic signals has been altered a number of times to accommodate different stages of work in the area, but these will operate in a more settled manner later this month, which should provide more consistency for all users.”