Gawith sets up an online Moira bypass petition

A local councillor has urged people to sign his Moira bypass online petition.
Traffic congestion in MoiraTraffic congestion in Moira
Traffic congestion in Moira

Owen Gawith’s petition went live on September 22, weeks after a woman died as she attempted to cross the main street on a Saturday afternoon.

Mr Gawith plans to present the petition to a Stormont Minister when it has reached 5,000 signatures.

Already the petition has got almost 400 signatures, in just a few days and Mr Gawith has also gone door to door around the village for people to sign it.

He hopes that a bypass will be built, as in Toomebridge, to ease traffic congestion.

Mr Gawith has spoken to residents who have said that traffic, has become so intolerable that at peak times it stretches as far out as the M1 motorway, and out to Magheralin in the other direction.

Some residents have called for a bypass for many years.

One described the traffic there as a ‘continual two way, single stream, narrow thoroughfare’ with up 13,070 vehicles travelling through the village daily.

Some claim that residential developments which recently got planning approval will add several hundred more vehicles to the queues every day.

Mr Gawith said that he began the petition to honour a promise he made to his contituents during the local government election campaign.

“I have set up a petition to obtain 5,000 signatures to be delivered to Stormont,” he said.

“The petition is available at www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/moiraneedsabypass; and has gained pace this week, approaching 400 signatures in just four days.”

He went onto say that when he went door to door with the petition and got as many as 100 in just a few hours.

“My thanks to all who have signed so far, and I would encourage people of every shade of political opinion to sign the petition as this is for everyone’s benefit,” he said.

“If anyone has concerns, I can be contacted at the Alliance office on 92671177 or by email at [email protected].”