Concern mounts as parking pattern hinders flow

The problem arose following recent resurfacing work at Mount Street.

Prior to that, double-yellow lines largely deterred drivers from parking on one side of the street, but the lines were not replaced on the newly resurfaced road and now, it’s claimed, motorists are clogging the central artery by lining both sides with parked cars.

According to some town centre regulars the rows of parked cars are turning the street into a bottleneck and presenting through-traffic with a navigation hazard.

“At certain times of day it’s all you can do to get down the street,” said one man. “If you meet anything coming the other way it’s a nightmare to get past.”

The recent development has been brought to the attention of at least some local politicians, with Lagan Valley MLA Brenda Hale’s Dromore office having raised the matter with Roads Service.

Dromore Councillor and Mrs. Hale’s Dromore office manager, Paul Rankin, though adopting no personal position on the need, or otherwise, for double-yellow lines at Mount Street, contacted the agency on Mrs. Hale’s behalf to query the situation as raised by concerned constituents.

While he understood, he said, that opinions among road-users would almost certainly differ, he wondered if there was not a formal procedure to be followed before double-yellow lines could be permanently removed or altered.

In response, Roads Service said that the matter was receiving attention.

The Leader also contacted Roads Service on the issue this week.

A spokesperson said simply, “Roads Service will be replacing these lines shortly.”