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Tesco Extra traffic bumper to bumper
Reporter: by Ken Bennett
Date online: 13 May 2009
A top-level investigation has been launched into traffic chaos and delays near the new Tesco store in Huddersfield Road.
The store, the largest in the North-West, opened for business on Monday and irate commuters claim traffic snarl-ups are causing frustrating delays to journeys in and out of the town centre.
Now, Oldham Council and Greater Manchester Urban Traffic Control Unit (UTC) are working together to monitor traffic flows and find ways of easing the jams.
Motorists say the road is log-jammed from Mumps Bridge to the junction of Ripponden Road at key rush-hour and school run times.
Councillor Brian Lord, is demanding action to sort the snarl-ups. He said: “There is an urgent need to look at the effect of the Tesco lights on the traffic streams through the town.
“Many people have started to use Lees Road to get from Saddleworth to Oldham, causing even more hold ups. It is taking me three times as long to get home than usual.
“For some reason, people are leaving the bypass in droves and heading on to the road leading to Sainsbury’s store. I have never experienced so many people doing this before.
“There have been increasing numbers coming off the bypass and down on to Waterloo Street over recent weeks.
“I suspect that this is because the traffic lights at Tesco’s have backed up traffic through Mumps island and on the bypass.”
He says that earlier in the week he was caught in a jam just off King Street roundabout and crawled to the Sainsbury’s island.
“The problem was that cars coming off the bypass were blocking the island so traffic wishing to turn right on to the bypass couldn’t get on to the island. Once vehicles reach Mumps island they face stationary traffic stopping vehicles heading to town centre entering it.”
Councillor Lord said on one journey it took three changes of traffic lights to get off the island at Bottom o’th’Moor and several more changes to travel across Cross Street.
Bob Marshall an Oldham businessman who travels from Springhead by car to the town centre every day, said: “It has been is total chaos on Huddersfield Road at rush hour.
“Problems are made worse by traffic coming out of Tesco’s car park trying to get back on to the main road.”
Cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, Councillor Mark Alcock, said: “The new Tesco store is a fantastic development.
“However it is well-known and accepted nationally that opening such a large scale development anywhere can have an effect on local traffic flow.
“I can assure all road users council traffic engineers and experts from the UTC will be monitoring the situation closely.”
Comments
I am a frequent user of the Huddersfield road / Ripponden road Junction. Although the new Tesco will add further traffic the chaos started way before the installation of the Tesco traffic light. The main problem seems to be the fact that all traffic is pushed into one lane a peak times due to the EMPTY BUS LANE!
Why did the developers put the entrance and exit at the front onto the busy main road in first place??? Years and years there has been a store there with the carpark entrance and exit on the side road, has there ever really been any problems? No, the new Tesco's looks fantastic but this really does spoil it (maybe its the same developers that did the Elk Mill retail park!!!!!)
DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO WORK THAT ONE OUT, DOES IT..!!!!! WHEN THE FILTER LANE FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STORE IS ONLY ABOUT 3 CAR LENGTHS LONG, BUT THIS IS OLDHAM COUNCIL SO MAYBE IT DOES.
The stupid councillors should remember the millions of pounds spent on huddersfield road to have a bus lane what i diabolical move that has been and it's of no surprise that the Tesco development has caused chaos.The call for the UTC to look at it going to be at a cost to the tax payer, why ?did they not see it coming. You the councillors are are an embarrassment and should resign.
Unbelievable: Councillor Alcock makes the amazing revelation that opening up such a large scale development can have an effect on traffic flow. Please don't get a Council Traffic Engineer to address the issues. Ask a local resident to do a sketch on the back of a fag packet. It will make more sense and save the tax payer millions. Absolutely unbelievable......
Where wre you MR Alcock wehen the decisions were being made - perhaps dining out with Tesco's finest !
TRAFFIC AT HILL STORES IS BUSY ENOUGH AT RUSH HOUR WITHOUT ALL THE EXTRA TRAFFIC CREATED BY SHOPPERS AT TESCOS. ITS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. WATCH THIS SPACE!!
Alcock, it’s your council traffic engineers that have caused this problem. Try getting rid of the useless bus lane that might ease congestion. Ps getting rid of the useless traffic engineers might also help
Well we do have to rely on intelligence from oldham council sorting this out! Unfortunately they have never employed such people; you only have to look at all the roundabouts that don’t work. Grid lock that appears every day all over and when tram work starts well you know
Agreed, the problem lies with Oldhams highways department, who should have seen the plans. But then who knows what influence Tescos have had over the planning? Quite possible that they steam rollered the plans they wanted. An exit onto the side streets would be great for those of us who don't actually want to use Huddersfield road. One entrance and exit is simply not enough it needs three really, but whether they will modify the site is anyones guess
looks like that quality bus corridor isn't so quality anymore!
in fact its never been quality at all! 4 lanes of traffic coming from yorkshire merging into 1! even a young child just learning maths knows that wouldnt work!
also if anyone from the chron could look back into the early plans of the bus corridor please. im sure it was three lanes either side when it was published!
theres even a group on facebook against it!
Councillor Lord from Saddleworth is complaining about the traffic problems on Huddersfield Road,near out new Tesco Shop for people travelling to and from Saddleworth.Hold on mate thought you lot up there in the hills didnt like Oldham and its people,simple solution stay where you are and keep out of Oldham,you want to be in Yorkshire so go and work and shop in Huddersfield.
Was interested to see just how badly designed the new Tesco was. I visited it on Tuesday evening, coming from Greenacres road I had to endure the absolute farce of entering and exiting the car park via Hudderfield road. It wasn't even busy and cars were backing right up into the carpark waiting to exit. My first and definitely my very last visit. Come back Netto, all is forgiven!!!
A similar think happened when an new Asda was built in the centre of Rawtenstall, after a few weeks though when the "newness wore off" things got better
Just get rid of the Bus lane simple
Maybe this is Oldham councils way of getting their own back on the motorist for not accepting the con charge. Just wait til the metrolink arrives. That'll cause even more jams.
This problem was evident when the lights were installed and was sure to cause massive chaos when the store opened. Why could an exit from the upper storey not have been placed were the old exit used to be in the side street. Oldham town planning strikes again!!!!!!
So everybody 'cept the guy in charge of traffic could see this coming And what will happen ifxxxwhen the academy at Waterhead adds to the traffic chaos when 1800 pupils are joining the school run? MADNESS !!!
Well who would have thought traffic would increase, not the council of course, and is one of the new 'super schools' going on the old mill site at Waterhead? Hummmmmmm that will make for a intresting traffic soloution....after it has been built of course
Money talks,no one else has been able to re-establish access through a break in the central reservation since the road changes.I was at a funeral at St James's Church, Barry Street, recently. Total chaos with people from out of town unable to find a way in to church even though they could see it from Huddersfield Road. Obviously big business and jobs are rated higher these days than Christian worship and giving someone a dignified exit from this life.
TRAFFIC AT HILL STORES HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR YEARS AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TESCO, IF DRIVERS OBEYED THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING THE LAST CAR THROUGH IT WOULD BE FINE, I HAVE SAT THROUGH 3 CHANGES OF THE LIGHTS AT THE BOTTOM OF RIPPONDEN ROAD BECAUSE OF SELFISH PEOPLE TRYING TO GO WHEN THEY OBVIOUSLY CANT.
Have Your Say
Quality comment from Councillor Alcock. It doesn't take a genius to see that traffic solutions should have been sought and agreed BEFORE allowing the development to go ahead. So how long before monitoring is concluded, a working committee formed, solutions found, solution agreed, documents produced, tenders sought, contractor appointed, work started and completed? I would say normality returns in say 2011!!!
By mikejh45 @ 13/05/2009 13:38:43