WORK to replace cycle lane symbols on Cowley Road in Oxford should be done as a ‘priority’, city councillors have said.

They called for leftover cash at Oxford City Council to be used to pay for it, during a meeting of the scrutiny committee.

Council officers had previously said the work should wait until separate work was undertaken to resurface the road.

But councillors said that was still at least a year away, a report said.

It added: “The committee asked why cycle symbols marks on the Cowley Road had not been replaced and commented that this had made the road more hazardous.

“Councillors asked whether it would be possible to replace the cycle symbols anyway given that people had already waited two years

for Oxfordshire County Council to resurface the road and felt that a further significant delay would be unacceptable.”

The scrutiny committee recommended that the work was made a top priority, subject to approval from the county council.

It also called for greater joint working with Oxford and Oxford Brookes universities and colleges, to help reduce the number of abandoned bicycles left around the city.

Councillors said this could free up ‘much needed’ cycle parking spaces.