A protected cycle lane along a "dangerous" route into Oxford has inched a step closer as plans are being drawn up.

Oxfordshire County Council has appointed a designer to begin working on a preliminary design for a new pedestrian and cycle path between Eynsham and Botley.

It would extend from the A40/B4449 roundabout and follow the B4449 and the B4044 from Eynsham to the Eynsham Road/West Way junction.

Funding has not yet been secured for construction of the path but the development of a preliminary design may assist with future funding bids, said the county council.

Cyclist John Howes was killed on the dangerous road in 2019 (Image: Oxford Mail) Cyclists, and many others who would like to cycle but are too scared, have campaigned for more than 10 years for a dedicated path for bikes and pedestrians on the Eynsham to Botley road.

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In August 2022 around 50 cyclists took part in a campaigning ride to raise awareness of the issue, repeating a similar ride that had taken place five-and-a-half years previously.

Charity Bike Safe, established by people who live or work in Eynsham and Botley, has staged dozens of community events and fetes and built up a supporter base of nearly 2,000 people.

Ian Leggett, of Bike Safe, who has been campaigning on the issue for more than a decade, told the Oxford Mail the B4044 is "a horrible road to cycle on".

"It’s narrow, it’s busy, it’s windy, there are buses, there are a lot of heavy lorries and over the years we’ve been campaigning literally hundreds of thousands of people have said to me ‘I’d love to cycle to Eynsham but I’m scared stiff of the road’," he said.

In 2019, 58-year-old cyclist John Howes was killed after he was struck by a Vauxhall Combo van.

The driver, Trevor Long, was later jailed for causing death by dangerous driving.

There had been 50 accidents in recent years, 20 of which involved a cyclist.

Campaigners have been fighting for a dedicated cycle path for over a decade (Image: Oxford Mail) The Bike Safe campaign was boosted in 2018 when the path was originally included as part of a £102m proposal to widen the A40 between Witney and Eynsham prompted by plans to build thousands of new houses in the area.

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The B4044 off-road path was included in those plans and in the formal public consultation on the scheme.

But although the B4044 cycle path was widely supported it was removed from the government funding application, with the council claiming at the time that the whole bid may have failed if it had stayed in. 

This October the government finally approved £126million of funding for the A40 improvement programme which was paused two years ago due to rising costs.

The scheme will include upgraded pedestrian and cycling paths along the A40 between Eynsham Park and Ride, which will finally be linked to the main road, and Oxford.