Nearly 40 households on a key Oxford road want a recently redesigned bus lane changed back to the way it was, claiming it is causing "gridlock, pollution, delay and increased risk of serious harm".

As part of changes to prioritise cyclists and pedestrians on Woodstock Road the direction of the bus lane between Wolvercote roundabout and Squitchey Lane has been switched from southbound to northbound.

It means that instead of leading into the city it now leaves the city.

Oxfordshire County Council said the measures were agreed with bus operators to improve journey times for buses travelling northbound.

Residents said the bus lane reversal has caused 'gridlock, pollution and increased risk of serious harm' (Image: Matt Broadway) But 37 households - the majority of people living in the experiment zone between Woodstock Road and Squitchey Lane - have signed the letter to Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport management, Andrew Gant, demanding the measures are reversed.

The letter said "this ill-conceived scheme, opposed locally from the start, has been utterly disastrous for both our road and adjacent streets".

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"North Oxford simply cannot function properly when such a critical arterial road is prevented from operating optimally and is instead engineered to cause quite artificial gridlock, pollution, delay and increased risk of serious harm," it said.

It added that the only potential benefit was slightly faster northbound bus journeys "for approximately 700 yards".

Woodstock Road resident Matt Broadway told us: "It’s absolute chaos. Everything southbound now has to queue behind all the buses.

"Less anticipated is a huge increase in congestion northbound because where traffic used to 'filter' into different directions on the approach to the roundabout now it is all in one lane.

"We see primary aged children, some cycling themselves or on various contraptions like Dutch bikes, now in the main traffic flow which is incredibly dangerous."

(Image: Matt Broadway)

He added: "Oxfordshire County Council refused to say what will be the measure of success or how they will judge whether the trial should be made permanent or not.

"I want the county council to see the level of support. What’s really annoying is that Andrew Gant has had that letter since October 16 and hasn’t even had the courtesy to respond."

Oxfordshire County Council said the trial would take time to bed in and all the measures on Woodstock Road are being closely monitored.

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A spokesman said: "However, since the bus lane has been in operation, there have been other traffic management measures in place as we provide improved side road junctions, and other roadworks associated with utility companies."

The criteria for judging whether it is a success and should remain permanent will be on-site observations from regular site visits by the project team; feedback from bus operators; consultation responses; general feedback from road users, local businesses and the public; monitoring data on traffic and bus journey times; data on safety related incidents or conflicts with other traffic as well as any enforcement issues resulting from the changes.

A six-month consultation is open at Let’s Talk Oxfordshire.