The number of tragic accidents that have occurred recently on Oxford roads should cause concern to the planners of the Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS).

Have they unwittingly added to the chaos with road closures, pedestrianised areas and the construction of parking bays on many roads, thereby restricting traffic to single lanes?

There are roundabouts that have two lanes changing to three, causing confusion to everyone.

Some are designed with tight bends which drivers of large articulated lorries find difficult to manoeuvre, causing them to overturn with disastrous results.

Crash barriers and speed limits will help, but they will not prevent accidents occurring in the future, as I believe there is a fundamental design fault that indirectly contributes to make our roads unsafe for all users.

The ring road was designed to keep traffic away from the centre of Oxford. But since the OTS was adopted, local traffic has been shifted to use the ring road, making some stretches accident prone.

Local traffic should not be mixing with large articulated lorries thundering through at 70mph.

The A34 acts like a motorway as it is the only direct link from the south to the north. The A40 is used as a link to the west for traffic coming from the M40. Sections of these roads form parts of the ring road.

Local traffic is forced to use these roads as there are no direct connections between north Oxford and the south or east Oxford with the west.

Where connections can be made, the routes are tortuous as more often than not, the roads have become giant car parks.

I don't think there is any one blanket solution that could be applied, as different areas have their own problems. But the goal should be that all local roads be kept free of parking to allow free movement of traffic.

Are motorists paying the ultimate penalty for bad planning?

Vim Rodrigo

Rivermead Road

Rose Hill

Oxford