Selfish motorists get tram warning

Two trams were halted for 20 minutes when the driver of a car refused to move.

Drivers have been warned they face a zero-tolerance approach to causing an obstruction to the tram network after several were caught parking too near the track.

Today the Chronicle again features several pictures showing vehicles blocking tram’s path on Union Street. Trams are frequently halted while drivers return to move their vehicles.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, Oldham Council’s Cabinet member for housing, planning and highways, said: “Since Metrolink arrived, the vast majority of drivers have acted responsibly. But there is an extremely small minority who break the law by deliberately parking on tramlines.”

Commuters were stopped at around 8.30am on February 25 when a lorry driver blocked the Union STreet line. The driver and a passenger were trying to get to a construction site off Yorkshire Street and got out to see where they had to go. The tram was delayed for five minutes.

In recent months, taxi drivers and delivery drivers have been snapped by angry members of the public and the problem shows no signs of easing.

Since May last year the council has issued 863 penalty-charge notices on Union Street alone - but not all were Metrolink related.