ONCE again members of the county council have not listened to the community.

Risinghurst and Sandhills Parish Council has been told by Rodney Rose, the county council cabinet member for transport, that we have no chance of having the long-awaited (and promised) traffic lights at the junction of Collinwood Road and the A40.

The temporary closure of the gap on the A40 access to Risinghurst is already causing local businesses to lose trade and make redundancies (yesterday’s Oxford Mail), but the real issue is the safety of pedestrians, especially young mothers and children, who are trying to cross this busy road.

People from Risinghurst need to get access to Barton Leisure Centre, the bus stops to Wheatley Park School, and, most importantly, people from Barton need to get safely across the A40 to use the post office in Risinghurst, as theirs closed some time ago.

The situation at this junction is made extremely dangerous due to the speed of the buses using the bus lane towards Green Road roundabout, and the marginal turning space allowed for cars to turn into the estate. However, my main concern is the welfare of the pedestrians, car passengers and, last but not least, the livelihood of the businesses within our community.

At the moment, Risinghurst is like an island, with only one means of escape, and that one now that is getting very congested with surplus traffic, due to the temporary closure.

Perhaps Mr Rose would like to explain why he will not to listen to his public and install these traffic lights, when we know that others are being installed within the county.

We all would be very interested to hear his reasoning behind his negative decision, and can assure him that members of our community, parish council, retailers and local councillors are actively working together to try to get his decision reversed.

BARBARA NAYLOR Ringwood Road Risinghurst