Dark Hedges traffic problems

Tourism has risen dramatically in the area due to the popularity of television series ‘Game of Thrones’, which is filmed locally.

The Dark Hedges is used as ‘The King’s Road’ in the HBO series and regularly attracts visitors from all over the world to the north Antrim road.

The increased traffic though is causing problems as Cllr Baird highlighted.

“The Dark Hedges has become a major tourist attraction, there’s hardly a day or night that goes by that there isn’t a large gathering of tourists there,” she said.

“Because of the excess traffic cars are parking on the verges and this is having an impact on the area, it’s creating an almost corrugated effect on the road. Farmers are also having difficulty getting their tractors and machinery down the road.”

John McKinley, DRD Roads Section Engineer, said he was concerned at the possible damage to the verges.

“Unfortunately damage to the verges can lead to damage of the drains,” he said.

“The difficulties we are experiencing are being exaggerated and exacerbated by the increased volume in traffic. We will look at finding a solution for the area.”

Gary Quinn, Network Maintenance Manager, said TransportNI were willing to play their part in resolving any issues.

“We want to have a solution which will help everyone and not impact on the visitor experience. We are willing to play are part in that.