Motorists are being hit by traffic jams due to buttons freezing at pedestrian crossings, according to widespread reports across Greater Manchester today.
Tailbacks because of the issue are being reported in the Rochdale, Littleborough, Middleton and Oldham areas, and as far afield as Buxton – with some residents reportedly pouring hot water over signal boxes to de-ice stuck buttons.
One report from the Derbyshire town claimed traffic lights at a pelican crossing near a pub were ‘changing every 30 seconds’ to red leading to delays on the road, with reports of other crossings being hit by the same problem.
It comes as wintry, freezing conditions continue to hit Greater Manchester, with Manchester Airport’s runways temporarily closing on Thursday morning, schools shut and roads closed.
It’s understood that once pressed by a pedestrian to cross, buttons aren’t releasing as they should due to the freezing weather conditions.
One social media post in Rochdale claimed ‘every crossing in the town was changing to red constantly’ on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with traffic flow on Falinge Road also being hit. It claimed the issue caused traffic to back-up, with long queues reported in the Littleborough area.
Residents are reportedly leaving their homes to pour warm water over crossing buttons to solve the problem and get traffic flowing again.
“It’s so cold the edges of the press buttons have frozen so when it’s been pressed in by someone crossing, it stays pressed in,” said one poster on social media.
Snow in West Didsbury
(Image: Andrew Stuart)
Another, reporting problems in Littleborough, said: “Anyone who lives near a pedestrian crossing turning red every 10 seconds, please pour warm water on the buttons. They are frozen – traffic is horrendous apparently.”
And another post on a local Facebook page reported an issue on Oakcliffe Road in the village.
It said: “The pelican crossing at the bottom of Oakcliffe Road is turning to red every twenty seconds. Although a pain, at 10pm at night it’s good to see people adhering to road rules when no pedestrians are present.”
The same issue was also reported on Thursday in Royton, Oldham.
A poster on Facebook said: “The pedestrian crossing outside Lidl is glitching. Keeps turning itself to red after a few seconds of green. It’s -6. I wonder if the button got frozen down.”
The crossing at Hollins Lane, Middleton, was reportedly frozen
(Image: Google)
Traffic lights in the Heywood and Middleton areas were also reportedly affected.
“If anyone lives near a pedestrian crossing that keeps changing to red when no one is there, could you kindly go out and pour warm water on the button and it will stop it happening,” read another post.
“All the buttons seem to be frozen from Littleborough to Rochdale – Heywood and Middleton same. It seems to be causing mayhem on the roads.”
A resident on Hollins Lane in Middleton, meanwhile, said they have defrosted buttons at a crossing near the junction of Langley Lane several times.
“We go out and pour warm water on the ones outside our house to stop it, anyone who lives near ights should do the same,” they said.