£1.3m King Street facelift

COUNCILLOR HUSSAIN

ONE of the main routes into Oldham town centre is set to get a £1.3million facelift.

When completed, the King Street corridor scheme will deliver improved cycle and pedestrian access to town centre shops as well as the two colleges ­- while enhancing the overall appearance of the area.

The pans were unanimously approved by Oldham Council's Cabinet last night.

The main focus of the work is to create a shared cycle/footway and upgrade five junctions to include toucan crossings. Another toucan crossing will also be added along the King Street corridor, further increasing safety for pedestrians.

Widened shared pedestrian/cycle footways will also be introduced and King Street will be reduced to a single lane in each direction.

Work is set to start in mid-July and is expected to last for up to 20 weeks.

During the construction phase vehicles and pedestrians will still be able to use the route with occasional localised diversions and temporary traffic management put in place.

The council has informed local residents, traders and businesses about the work.

Councillor Fida Hussain said: "The area had become a little tired and because of that we've decided to improve its look in keeping with the other street scene improvements we've made across the town centre."