ROAD junctions in Jericho have been altered because they were potentially dangerous, it has emerged.

But Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney, Susanna Pressel did not agree that the changes made roads any safer and has called for the old junction markings to be reinstated.

Ms Pressel said the stops, one at the junction of Great Clarendon Street and Albert Street, and the other at the junction of Cardigan Street and Albert Street, would now be more dangerous because some drivers would go faster as a result of the changes.

Ms Pressel said drivers in Great Clarendon Street now have priority at the crossroads with Albert Street, while drivers going along Cardigan Street now have priority at the junction with Albert Street.

Similar alerations to the junction of Cranham Street and Cranham Terrace have yet to be carried out by Oxfordshire County Council.

Ms Pressel said: “These four-way stops, with broken lines at the junctions, must have been in place for decades.

“People in Jericho loved them and they have been removed without any consultation.

“St Barnabas Primary School is nearby and there is also a children’s playground in the area – Cardigan Street is often thronged with children and following the changes I think some drivers will go faster.”

It is understood that the four-way stops were prohibited under Department for Transport traffic sign regulations dating back to 2002.

According to advice contained in the regulations, the use of stop signs and markings, or give way signs on all legs of a junction are prohibited as it could cause uncertainty as to which vehicles had priority .

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “The city council installed these four-way ‘Give Ways’ in the 1990s .

“More recently the Government has said that these road markings are no longer legal.

“As a consequence the markings are being allowed to fade .

“In more recent times 20mph limits have been introduced throughout Oxford as an alternative form of constraint on vehicle speed that did not exist in the 1990s.”

Ms Pressel received an email which said officers were aware of one incident at the junction of Great Clarendon Street and Albert Street where there was uncertainty about which vehicle had right of way and both drivers then had to “perform an emergency stop to avoid a collision”.

The response added: “From a legal point of view, should a similar incident lead to damages, both drivers would be able to claim that they were not responsible because our markings were both confusing and illegal.

“We could therefore be held accountable.”