Danger junction fears are raised

Concerns over obstructed views have been raised about the main junction from the Hillhall Estate to the Hillhall Road.

One worried resident contacted the STAR to say they struggled to safely exit the junction.

The driver, who did not want to be named, said: “I find it very dangerous. I feel it is only a matter of time before a serious accident happens if something is not done about this.

“When you stop at the white line at this junction and look to the right for oncoming traffic your view is obstructed by two telephone line service boxes, two post boxes, a waste bin and recently, an advetising sign for the local shop.

“This means you have to edge out beyond the stop line to see what is coming up the road. You are then in a very vunerable position if there is traffic coming you haven’t seen when stopped behind the white line.”

The resident claims the problems began a few years ago when the road was resurfaced. “This situation arose a few years ago when the road was resurfaced and the footpath on the city side of the junction was realigned to create a slight curve.

“The stop line on the road is now about a metre further back than it used to be thus causing the objects mentioned to obstruct the drivers’ line of sight.”

TransportNI pointed out that the placement of public service infrastructure does not fall under its remit.

A TransportNI spokesperson said: “TransportNI has not received any complaints about this junction or is aware of any particular issues.

“While TransportNI is responsible for the maintenances of the road and walkway, the street positioning of public service infrastructure items such as post boxes, telephone engineering boxes and litter bins are the responsibility of the respective service providers.”