Double yellow lines are blacked out (From The Oxford Times)

Double yellow lines are blacked out

10:30am Thursday 1st March 2012 in Oxford By Damian Fantato , covering Summertown, Jericho and North Oxford. Call me on 01865 425429

THE bizarre double yellow lines that sprung up at junctions across the city have been blacked out.

Oxfordshire County Council’s transport boss Rodney Rose insisted the council had not got it wrong, despite the Department for Transport confirming the markings did not conform to any regulations.

However, Mr Rose was unable to tell the Oxford Mail how much the lines – which ran across junctions – had cost to paint and then remove.

He said: “Given the concerns raised by the public we are making arrangements to remove the yellow lines.

“The aim was to benefit pedestrians, cyclists and residents by emphasising the residential nature of the side roads, encouraging drivers to slow down and discouraging rat-runners. But given the confusion this has obviously caused, we feel removing the lines is the only reasonable course of action.”

The double yellow lines appeared across some of Headington’s streets – including Bickerton Road and Latimer Road – over the past few weeks. But residents, and even an expert in road traffic law, were at a loss as to what they meant.

Last night it emerged there are 17 other places across the county where similar yellow lines have been painted and Mr Rose said they were all being removed. The council said that a traffic regulation order was in place over the whole of Headington, allowing it to amend the double yellow lines without needing further permission.

Stephen Road resident Dominic Francis said: “The council’s intentions were good but they went about it the wrong way.

“It was a waste of money.”

Last night Oxfordshire County Council was also unable to say whether any alternative road markings or traffic-calming measures would be put in place.

The ones in Headington had been put in place as part of the New Headington Transport Improvements scheme, which began in October.

Costing in the region of £450,000, the scheme aimed to improve conditions in Headington for cyclists and pedestrians.