'Forgotten' Moneymore demands action on traffic

Residents and business owners have voiced their concerns about growing traffic congestion in Moneymore following the completion of the Magherafelt bypass.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Nov 2016, 13:23 BST
Updated 18th Nov 2016, 12:22 BST
Moneymore demands a bypass to cope with increased trafficMoneymore demands a bypass to cope with increased traffic
Moneymore demands a bypass to cope with increased traffic

Thousands of vehicles pass through the village daily and locals have been calling for a bypass.A public meeting was arranged by local Ulster Unionist MLA Sandra Overend, who is intending to raise the concerns with the Minister for Infrastructure Chris Hazzard.Several motorists - particularly lorry drivers - also attended the meeting which took place in the MLA’s constituency office at High Street in the middle of the village.Since the bypass opened a few months ago traffic congestion has been steadily increasing, causing considerable inconvenience to commuters and villagers.Mrs Overend explained that a number of residents had come forward with “deep-felt concerns about the volume, speed and congestion of traffic in Moneymore.”“I felt that it was important to gauge the opinion of as wide a number of local residents and business owners in the village and listen to what they had to say on this important matter,” she said.“It was very clear from listening to residents, business owners, and those who work in the village that there is a strong sense from across stakeholder groups that the only long-term solution to the enduring problem of this substantial travel bottleneck is a Moneymore bypass.“Since a bypass was first proposed over four decades ago and then shelved, the people of Moneymore feel, in their own words, that the village has been ‘forgotten about’ and ‘neglected’ while other areas of Mid Ulster have seen their road infrastructure upgraded.”Mrs Overend said her meeting will take place with the Minister in January and anyone who was unable to attend the meeting can pass on their concerns by contacting her constituency office.Meanwhile, the next judicial review hearing of the £160m A6 Randalstown-Castledawson dual carriageway has been set for next Monday morning.Thousands of vehicles pass through the village daily and locals have been calling for a bypass. Opponents are against the four-lane carriageway going through countryside which featured in poems by Seamus Heaney.

Related topics:Residents