The 'bonkers' road sign mix-up causing confusion in a Greater Manchester town
by Charlotte Hall · Manchester Evening NewsA local resident has spent months trying to fix a road sign problem in Oldham - but the council's solution has caused further confusion. Street signage on Hawthorn Crescent in Fitton Hill had been causing delays for emergency services, leaving residents 'anxious' and 'frustrated'.
But a 'stupid mistake' means the new signs that locals asked for could cause more problems.
The Hawthorn Crescent sign used to only label one side of the road, which actually extends in both directions across Beechwood Road, with even numbers on one side and uneven numbers on the other.
Resident Alan Wild said the road layout and insufficient signage used to leave emergency services like ambulances and police 'scratching their heads' as they struggled to find uneven numbers.
“There was a lot of frustration and anxiety," Wild explained "There’s quite regular police incidents here and if they can’t find where they’re going - that can cause 10, 15 minute delays.
"And God forbid if we ever needed the fire service.”
Since April, Wild has spent months contacting local councillors, MPs and the highways department over the summer, and even considered making his own sign to address the problem. Registered blind, the pensioner said he had great difficulty finding the right department to speak to and was passed ‘from pillar to post’ in the process.
“It felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall,” Wild said. But the 'community-spirited' resident persevered and eventually made contact with a local GMP boss, who helped highlight the concern about emergency services.
The council finally arrived with new signs this month. There was just one problem: the numbers are wrong.
The new signposts now indicate the road’s two halves. But the numbers on the signage read ‘1 - 21’ and ‘2-20’ when house numbers in fact go up to 25.
Residents of the road reacted in a Fitton Hill community group saying they were ‘very proud’ that Mr Wild had persisted but ‘couldn’t believe’ the mistake and ‘wondered how long it would take to get this sorted’.
(Image: Google Earth)
Wild added: "At first, I thought ‘great’! But then someone pointed out that they’ve messed up the numbers. That’s confusing.
"I’m pleased that it’s up. But why on earth did they get the numbers wrong? Clearly the research the highways side have done is bonkers.
"Such simple things really matter and should be basic planning priorities. I’m miffed."
Cllr Chris Goodwin, Cabinet Member responsible for Highways, responded: “We are aware of the ongoing issues surrounding the signage on Hawthorn Crescent and the concerns raised. We have recently installed two new street signs to address the situation.
“However, we understand that one of the signs contains an error in the numbering. This has been identified by the service and the team are working hard to rectify the mistake as a matter of urgency.
“We want to assure the residents that this will be corrected as quickly as possible to prevent further confusion and we apologise for the inconvenience.”