Letter: Uppermill Traffic Congestion
The roadworks on Uppermill High Street caused long queues of traffic.
Below is a letter to the editor sent by David Gartside about the delays caused by roadworks on Uppermill High Street. I’ve reproduced the letter in full. You can read a Saddleworth News story about the roadworks by clicking here.
If you’d like to respond to the points made in the letter then leave a comment below. Or you can send a letter to the editor yourself, about this or any Saddleworth subject, by e-mailing editor@saddleworthnews.com
“We have been away for three weeks and visited Uppermill for the first recent time at 10:30am this morning. What a hopeless situation we found.
“There were roadwaorks creating single file traffic from School St to Bridge St, controlled by temporary traffic signals. Traffic was backed up for several hundred yards in each direction along High St and vehicles were taking six or seven changes of the lights to get through.
“Most of the problem was caused by the permanent pedestrian signals outside the Post Office. They had been left in operation and were working in conflict with the roadworks signals, so that traffic could often not pass the roadworks, even when on a green roadworks signal, because of standing traffic from the opposite direction.
“The answer seems simple. Switch off the pedestrian lights. The temporary roadworks signals create a long interval for pedestrians to cross High St in complete safety. Local traders and residents must be in despair with the inability of those responsible to deal effectively with obvious traffic problems in Uppermill.
“What on earth is going to happen when the long term gas roadworks start later this month?”
David Gartside
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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6 Comments
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The pedestrian crossing lights last 30-45 seconds. Hardly time to cause the problems Mr Gartside complained off. If there was “ample time” for pedestrians, they wouldn’t be needing to press the button would they? But then Mr Gartside probably thinks a minute of delay in a vehicle is more important than the safety of pedestrians crossing the road.
These aren’t the gas works!!!
Coming from the Church Road Uppermill area I am finding getting to work challenging enough as it is. First I hit the lights between Triangle in Lydgate and Grotton, then the Metrolink works at mumps is causing me a nightmare. It took me 1hour 20 minutes from Chadderton to Uppermill most nights last week and this week. I dread to think what will happen when high street is closed. Its going to take me hours to complete a 25 minute commute. An absolutely disgraceful inconvinience. It seems the council have sat back and realised they have done nothing for the highways for years so have made the foolish decision to dig up half of oldham and saddleworth at the same time.
light and one lane open uppermill high st
lights outside the farrars pub again today in the day time
road leading to greenfield completely closed again
mossley rd grasscroft access only
lydage lights
mumps, dont get me started
the world has gone mad!!!!
Mr Gartside has hit the nail on the head. Every time there are trafic lights in the centreof Uppermill the traffic problems are out of proportion to the amount of road dug up because of the interaction with the pedestrian controlled traffic lights, causing a sort of gridlock. If the road is going to be up for 9 months(which probably means over a year) then the Council needs to do something with the lights. The pedestrian lights could be linked to the temporary traffic lights so that they give time for pedestrians to cross every 2nd change of lights for the traffic. Also the temporary lights need to be set so that they give more time for traffic going towards Ashton in the morning and vice versa in the evening.
I aggre with Liz. During in the morning rush hour the lights should be set allowing more traffic through thats heading towards Ashton, Oldham, Manchester and vice versa in evening rush hour.