Families at risk as warning signs fail

SIGN concern . . . (from left to right) Hugh McDonald with the Rigby family, mother Gail, two of her children Zoe and Abigale and her husband, school caretaker Martin

Pledge to repair broken ‘slow down’ alerts

A COUNCILLOR has stepped in to solve the problem of faulty warning lights on a road dubbed The Cannonball Run.

Councillor Mark Alcock, Oldham’s cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, acted after residents living in Abbeyhills Road complained two flashing signs have not worked for 12 months and are putting school children and families at risk.

Councillor Alcock said: “We are currently liaising with our road sign contractors to identify the exact nature of the problem and to fix it as a matter of urgency.”

The complaints come in the wake of a council announcement that would see the installation of 12 new vehicle-activated signs at five potentially hazardous sites, tripling the number across the borough.

Martin Rigby, who has been caretaker at the 280-pupil Alt primary school for six years, said: “This road is a potential death-trap.

“It’s all right revealing new plans — but what about the signs that simply do not work?

“Four pets, including my own cat, have been killed on this road,” he said.

“My fear is unless something is done immediately, we could be facing a far more serious situation.

“The road is thronged with school children twice a day, but these two signs which are supposed to warn traffic to slow down, have not worked for months.

“I have complained to the police and local community officials but absolutely nothing has been done.”

Former councillor Hugh McDonald, a community activist, said: “It’s a scandal to announce more signs in other parts of town, yet not maintain the ones already here.

“Drastic action must be taken to avoid potential accidents particularly with the dark nights and the onset of winter.”

Councillor Alcock said: “I can confirm we are fully aware of the problems with these two vehicle-activated signs on Abbeyhills Road.

“I fully empathise with residents’ concerns about the current situation and would ask them to bear with us while we get them fixed.

“Our initial concern was the power supply to the signs had failed but investigations have now shown this not to be the case and the problem is more complex.

“The signs are an important part of our strategy to make the borough’s roads safer and I have ordered a full review of the existing signs to ensure they are fully operational and maintained to the highest possible standard.

“We recently agreed to allocate an extra £80,000 to install several new signs at locations across the borough.

“I can assure the public that maintenance and repair plans are included in the budget for that project,” he added.

Two new signs will be placed on the A635 and two on the s A62 Oldham - Huddersfield Road.

Two signs will be placed on each of the A663 Milnrow Road, Shaw; A6052 Denshaw Road, Delph and the B6195 Chadderton Hall Road, Chadderton.