A ROUNDABOUT on the A40 that has become a traffic accident blackspot will get new signs to help prevent further incidents.

Safety measures will be implemented at the Curbridge junction, built for the ongoing 1,000-home West Witney development, after at least 10 collisions since last August.

Most of the signs are set to be installed on the eastbound approach to the roundabout, on the edge of Witney, where many incidents have occurred.

The junction has been criticised for its design, while West Oxfordshire District Council’s cabinet member for environment, Norman MacRae, claimed speeding was also ‘an issue’.

The councillor still feels more could be done to make the roundabout safer, but welcomed the improvements.

He said: “It’s good that they’ve recognised that we’ve not been talking through our backsides. We shouldn’t knock the fact that they’ve accepted something is wrong and they’re trying to rectify that.”

Mr MacRae added: “The grass and foliage in the middle have also been getting very long so it’s hard to see what’s coming in from around the corner.

“Cars are all over the place coming into that roundabout.”

The new signs follow a Stage 3 Road Safety Audit and will be funded by Oxfordshire Land Limited, the consortium of housing developers constructing the West Witney site. Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson, Martin Crabtree, said ‘single chevron type signs’ will be put in the central reservation, plus reflective road studs on the eastbound approach.

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The council has asked for ‘enhanced visibility chevron signs’ on the roundabout, while Thames Valley Police want more signage showing the speed limit.

Mr Crabtree added: “The developers will be carrying out this work in the near future, along with some other remedials that have been identified.”

Oxford Mail:

A spate of crashes have occurred since the roundabout opened on August 25, with one local householder counting at least 15 collisions up to February.

A Freedom of Information request found police had recorded 10 collisions at the roundabout up to the end of May, with nine listed as ‘damage only', and one related to an animal.

The roundabout will also serve a 257-home development on land at Downs Road, Curbridge.