The road has seen 104 accidents in the last five years

The budget and final plans for Cowley Road were approved by the County Council on 1 June, but now a major part of the scheme will not go ahead.

The Green Party's local councillor has criticised the council for the late changes, saying he believed they were financially motivated.

The council says it is only responding to public complaints.

If the scheme is to be delivered on time and to budget - and retain its popular support - then such changes should be kept to the absolute minimum Councillor Craig Simmons

Cowley Road has the highest accident rate ratio of all shopping streets in Oxfordshire, with 104 reported in the five years to 31 August 2003.

Forty-six of these involved cyclists.

The council has said it will not go ahead with the mini-roundabout proposed for the easternmost element of the scheme - the junction of Magdalen Road and Cowley Road - because of fears over cyclists' safety and congestion.

But Councillor Craig Simmons, said although minor changes to the plan was inevitable, he was concerned that such a major change had been announced after the proposals had been approved.

"These late changes by county officers to the Cowley Road design must not prove the thin end of the wedge," the Green Party councillor said.

"If the scheme is to be delivered on time and to budget - and retain its popular support - then such changes should be kept to the absolute minimum."

Work on the scheme is expected to start in April next year, the council says.