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TRAFFIC delays ... the junction of Oldham Road, Kingsway and Queensway.
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End to traffic misery at last for motorists
Dave Appleton6/10/2007
THE end is in sight for major roadworks at two busy junctions in the town.
There have been long delays at the Sudden roundabouts and the Oldham Road-Kingsway-Queensway junction.
But the Sudden scheme, which has been hampered by difficulties experienced by gas and water utilities, is scheduled for completion by March next year, a meeting of Rochdale Borough Local Transport Forum was told this week.
And delays by United Utilities have also been blamed for overrunning works in Oldham Road, one of the busiest junctions in the town, but Rochdale Council reported to the forum that the traffic signals are now being wired up and should be switched on within the next few weeks.
The entire junction, including landscaping, is expected to be fully operational by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, bus operators in Rochdale will soon receive email information about roadworks in progress and other events which may cause disruption, including accidents.
The scheme is being co-ordinated by Road Watch in liaison with bus operators and local authorities, including Rochdale.
The meeting also heard that solar-powered lighting may soon be introduced into some Rochdale bus shelters.
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) has given the green light to the environmentally-friendly initiative which is expected to cost about £100,000 across the region.
Altogether 50 bus shelters will receive the new equipment, three of which are in Rochdale.
Councillor Allen Brett, Rochdale spokesman on the GMPTA, said: “Solar-powered bus shelters might sound like an odd idea for an area of the country where it rains a lot, but they don’t need direct sunlight to be effective.
“It is very important that there is good lighting at shelters as it helps people feel safe while they wait for their bus.
“Solar-powered systems are ideal for those sites which can’t easily be connected to mains electricity.”
Installation began in August and the job is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
The roof-mounted panels will generate electricity during the day and then store it in batteries to illuminate the shelters at night.
The lights are activated by sensors and only come on when there is someone at the stop, so that the stored energy is used as efficiently as possible.
As well as improving passenger safety, the plan is estimated to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 13 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
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I keep checking the `Rochdale Junctions¿ website for updates but it is almost useless as all they have been doing recently is changing the `week commencing¿ date but not changing the actual text. It has been saying for at least a month now that `the new traffic lights are scheduled to be switched on in the next few weeks¿! I also signed up for e-mail updates but I can count on one hand the number of e-mails I have received since the work started way back in January. It¿s absolutely appalling.
I do hope that whoever is responsible for the projects over-running are being subjected to cash penalties, or at the very least will not be contracted for any similar work in the future. I just hope there won¿t be anything on this scale again in the near future after this shambles!
8/10/2007 at 10:04