A BARRIER to protect pedestrians from bypass traffic has not been replaced, five months after it was destroyed by a crashing car.

Oxfordshire County Council is now being called upon to hurry up and replace the metal barrier, which guarded cyclists and walkers waiting to cross the Eastern Bypass from Risinghurst.

Roz Smith, county councillor for Risinghurst and Quarry, said replacing the safety barrier was all the more important now the school term had started.

And she said if a car had left the road before, it could happen again. But this time there would be nothing there to stop a vehicle from hitting pedestrians.

She said: “We have two lanes of traffic going past at 50mph and sometimes more than that.

“It is very exposed.

“It has been so many weeks and months now. They need to put a metal one in now, we cannot go on waiting.

“We have lots of children who cross there. If one car has gone off the road and demolished the barrier it is possible another could.

“A lot of parents have been contacting me and asking why haven’t they put a temporary barrier in or a new metal one.

“I am absolutely amazed they haven’t done something. It is really quite frightening there.”

The Liberal Democrat said the council was first due to replace the barrier as part of junction improvements scheduled to take place in May. But she said they had been knocked back due to the unavailability of a traffic management team to oversee the work.

And she said county staff had told her the barrier would be added next month at the earliest.

Headteacher of nearby Windmill Primary School, Lynn Knapp, said a large number of her pupils had to cross the busy bypass every day.

She said: “Families find that crossing difficult at the best of times. It is very busy.

“If it doesn’t prevent children from running out, it makes it more hazardous.”

Council spokesman Dominic Llewellyn-Jones said the barrier would cost about £500 to replace.

He said the work was due to take place in May as part of a larger scheme to improve the junction, but was delayed after concerns were raised about disruption.It was again delayed in July as the manpower was not available.

The spokesman said all the junction works were now scheduled for late-October, adding: “By carrying out the work at the same time, we can use the same traffic management, which represents a considerable saving on replacing the barrier separately.”

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