ABINGDON'S contentious new traffic system has come under fire again - this time from town councillors unhappy with a new traffic light system, which critics argue is causing peak-hour congestion.

The town council has called on Oxfordshire County Council to sort out the problems with the integrated system - which is designed to regulate traffic flow.

The Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique (SCOOT) system came into operation last year. But one long-standing critic of the system said the people of Abingdon had been "conned".

Brian Eastoe, of Drayton, said: "SCOOT doesn't work and I predicted it wouldn't when I attended the public exhibition in the town. I said that the graphics and computer simulation were the figment of someone's vivid imagination. We have been conned."

The leader of the town council, Julie Mayhew-Archer, said: "For too long the people of Abingdon and visitors to the town have struggled with the SCOOT system's failure to produce the results predicted by the Abingdon Integrated Transport System's modelling scheme.

"There is enormous frustration at the unpredictability of traffic queue lengths and concern that footfall to the shops has reduced since SCOOT came into operation.

"We want the county council to ensure that there are sufficient resources in place to review and improve the situation. It's important to maintain the vitality of this important market town."

Ian Hudspeth the county council's executive member for transport implementation, said: "To say that Abingdon was 'conned' is not the case as all along we have had open meetings and the information has been in the public domain. The scheme goes back to 2002 when the town, district and county councils all signed up to the scheme to improve the air quality and environment in the centre of Abingdon."

Mr Hudspeth admitted the SCOOT system had suffered teething problems - including BT lines which "seemed to fail regularly" at the start. But he said the lines were now proving more reliable and sending information back.

There are long delays to traffic at key times leading on to Abingdon Bridge from Culham, with traffic held back at lights before the bridge when the system detects congestion in the town centre. In a bid to ease queues, the lights are to be removed from the bridge and re-located in Bridge Street closer to the Market Place junction. The red phase will be shortened.

Another key stage in the town centre scheme - narrowing Stert Street into a single lane with wider pavements and parking bays - is due to finish by the end of the month. A similar scheme for the High Street has been delayed for a year to examine traffic implications.

A 'straight on' filter at the Ock Street-Stratton Way junction is expected to be operational later this month, allowing traffic to continue along Ock Street instead of being held at the junction alongside traffic waiting to turn right into Stratton Way.