A JUNCTION where an elderly woman lost a leg in a collision with a lorry is to be made safer with the introduction of special mirrors, town hall chiefs have revealed.

Cabinet member Arooj Shah confirmed that more “trixi mirrors” will be put at dangerous junctions across Oldham in the near future, funded by money received from housing developers to improve cycling infrastructure.

Trixi mirrors are convex mirrors that are attached to traffic signals to help drivers – especially HGVs – to see down the side of their vehicle for the presence of cyclists or pedestrians.

Shaw Cllr Chris Gloster raised the issue at a meeting of Oldham’s full council last Wednesday night.

“Trixi mirrors are an invaluable safety feature, particularly at traffic junctions, examples can be seen throughout the borough,” he said.

“I’ve noticed however that at Shaw’s busiest junction for heavy goods vehicles, Crompton Way and Rochdale Road, no mirrors are fitted.

“Having previously dealt with an elderly lady who had her leg taken off by an articulated wagon at this junction, I am acutely aware that these mirrors are invaluable and I would like to ask the cabinet member if there are any plans to fit mirrors at this junction.”

Portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, Cllr Shah replied that the authority’s highways officers welcomed the support from Cllr Gloster for these type of mirrors.

“The current deployment of these road safety devices in Oldham was as a result of a successful bid to the Department for Transport by TfGM in 2012, with locations chosen prioritised as a result of accident statistics,” she said.

“Based on the success of the mirrors, additional installations are proposed in the coming months by Oldham’s highway safety engineers to ensure a proactive and a preventative approach.

“The additional sites will be funded from Section 106 monies held by the council, specifically reserved for improvements to the cycle infrastructure.

“It is anticipated that the traffic signals at the Crompton Way, Rochdale Road junction will be one of the first locations to benefit from trixi mirrors in the coming months.”