A REVAMPED Frideswide Square in Oxford could become a no-go area for blind people, campaigners fear.

Oxfordshire County Council began work to overhaul the junction in February and is set to replace it with a roundabout connected to two mini-roundabouts by a boulevard.

Narrow lanes will be built to encourage slower traffic speeds which are safer for cyclists, but they will also be able to use pedestrian areas on each side of the square.

Joel Young, engagement officer in Oxfordshire for Guide Dogs UK, said that without proper segregation it posed a danger to those with sight problems.

He said: “If there is no segregation that clearly marks out areas for pedestrians to walk free of cyclists then it can be very off-putting for someone with sight problems.

“Even a near miss can cause someone to not use it again.

“The carriageway has been made narrower to make cyclists more confident, so really there is no need for them to be allowed on the pavement at the square.

“The right segregation measures should be used, such as tactile paving, if they are going to be allowed to share, otherwise it could be very dangerous.”

But chairman of city cycling group Cyclox Simon Hunt said cyclists needed to be able to use the space and that there was little use in having lanes.

He said: “There are so many variations for the ways that people will move across the square that we did not argue for a cycle lane.

“It is a question of pragmatism because I think the vast majority of cyclists are respectful of slower-moving pedestrian areas and can predict where people are walking and avoid them.

“Cyclox believes the design of Frideswide Square is a reasonable compromise, but if there are problems further down the line then segregated routes should be looked at.”

On its website, Oxfordshire County Council said the boulevard had been designed to encourage traffic to travel no faster than 15mph.

It said this would mean “the majority of cyclists will feel comfortable joining the main flow of traffic on the carriageway”.

But it added: “For cyclists who do not want to use the road, and this might be because going off-road is a quicker route to where they are going, there are shared use areas for cyclist and pedestrians.”