NEW cycle lane markings have been spotted on busy roads throughout Oxford in recent days.

The markings, which designate larger areas of the road for cyclists, have been painted on Abingdon Road and along Magdalen Bridge in the last week.

The new road markings, captured on camera by an Oxford Mail reader, have been funded in part by a £298,500 grant from the Government.

But local cycling campaigners are not convinced that the paint job alone will make people feel safe cycling on the busy roads.

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Alison Hill, the chairwoman of cycling lobby group Cyclox, welcomed the road markings, but said more would need to be done to change how safe people felt riding a bike.

Dr Hill said: "When the bus gates come, I think it will completely change the mode of traffic. So there is potential for improvement but as it currently stands I think it will be unlikely to increase cyclist confidence."

The Cyclox chairwoman added that new bus gates would likely clear traffic from city centre roads like Magdalen Bridge, and that with less cars, cyclists would feel safer.

The Government grant funding from the emergency active travel fund, is aimed at changing roads to make them safer for people to cycle on or to walk, as they return to work after lockdown.

The council started spending the cash in July, and work has also been carried out in other parts of Oxford, as well as in towns around Oxfordshire.

This is costing a total of £597,000, with the council paying for the other half from its transport maintenance budget.

Last week the county council announced work would take place along Abingdon Road up until August 12, with a diversionary route in place to steer drivers around workmen painting the new markings.

It has also been publicising its work to improve cycle paths in areas outside Oxford with videos on social media, including one in which council contractors are shown digging turf away from the edges of cycle paths in Abingdon.

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At the same time as work on Abingdon Road and Magdalen Bridge has taken place, another cycle lane has been painted on a busy main route into Headington.

The new cycle paths along Windmill Road which are being finished off by council workers this month are not connected to the other works.

These are the last stage of a £17m project called Access to Headington, which the council has been carrying out since 2016.

The project has also seen works on other busy roads which connect the city centre with Headington, including Old Road and Headley Way.

The project has seen some setbacks and delays, most recently because lockdown led to roadworks on Headley Way being stopped in March.

The county council is currently bidding for £2.4m more government cash to help cyclists in Oxford.