PUPILS have presented a petition to transport bosses urging them to extend a cycle lane they use to get to their North Oxford school.

The children, who attend St Aloysius Catholic Primary School, want the Woodstock Road cycle lane, which begins in Blandford Avenue, extended beyond Frenchay Road.

They say if it was made 400 metres longer, they would no longer have to cross the road and ride alongside cars to complete the last section of their journey.

Almost 120 signatures have been added to their online petition, set up on ipetitions.com, which was presented to Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet on Tuesday.

The campaign has been backed by Liz Wade, Oxford city councillor for St Margaret’s, and county councillor for St Margaret’s John Howson.

Mr Howson said: “It’s pressing the council for this extension because it would not be very expensive to do but would encourage many more children to cycle to school. That can only be a good thing.”

St Aloysius caters for about 230 pupils, and its ‘eco council’ wrote to Oxfordshire County Council – which is responsible for roads and transport – in May to express concern that cycle provision in Woodstock Road was “unsafe for children”.

The pupils said there was room to extend the cycle lane to St Margaret’s Road, because the pavement was still as wide as further north.

The letter added that without changes there was a risk of serious injury if a child was involved in an accident along the stretch of road, where a 30mph speed limit is in place.