More than 650 fines issued this year on street with ‘horrifying’ problem
Reporter: Charlotte Hall, Local Democracy Reporter
Date published: 23 November 2024
An example of the 'nightmare' parking on Union Street. Images courtesy of Trish Harrison
Oldham Council has issued more than 650 tickets on a road plagued by a ‘horrifying’ parking issue.
Drivers on Union Street received 652 fines so far this year, according to a Freedom of Information request.
The road, notorious for its antisocial pavement parking, has been described as a ‘problem area’ for wheelchair users and families, who struggle to get through.
Drivers frequently block the road, mount the kerb or pavement park, despite double yellow lines and visible tram tracks.
Trish Harrison, 40, shared a video with the LDRS that shows the ‘scary’ moment a car drives directly towards her and her child while they’re walking on the pavement.
The Oldham mum has fibromyalgia and often has difficulty passing down the street on her crutches.
“It’s extremely dangerous,” she said.
“Some cars are completely parked across the path, so there’s nowhere to even squeeze through a gap.
"I’m forced to go into the road with my kids. It’s horrifying.”
And retired corporal Terry Fleming, 65, said he avoids the ‘nightmare’ road entirely for ‘fear of getting stuck’ with his wheelchair.
The illegal parking also regularly causes tram delays.
But the situation is difficult for traffic wardens to police, with councillors previously linking the problem to unregistered vehicles operating as delivery drivers for Union Street businesses.
But parking inspectors have not been idle – more than 2,500 tickets have been issued in the last four years: 563 in 2023, 642 in 2022 and 686 in 2021.
Responding to the figures, councillor Chris Goodwin, Cabinet member for highways, said: “This shouldn’t be happening, and it’s exactly why we are looking at introducing a Red Route on Union Street.
"The high level of tickets we have issued shows we are taking the issue seriously and will carry on doing so.”
Oldham Council wants to introduce the borough’s first ‘red route’ to put an end to the rule-breaking.
A strict camera-enforced no-stopping rule will be enforced on the highway.
Only emergency services will be allowed to park up on the road. Blue Badge holders and Hackney Carriage taxis will be allowed to stop briefly to let passengers in or out but won’t be allowed to wait.
And the highway will be monitored by an ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) camera.
Red routes in London have shown ‘remarkable success’ in bringing down congestion, parking issues, travel times and even personal injury rates, according to research.
The plans are due to go to public consultation in the next few months, with the aim to implement them ‘early in the next financial year’ once funding is secured from Transport for Greater Manchester.
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