Scheme at Low Road welcomed

Mrs Palmer was speaking this week, as it was earlier announced this year that traffic calming measures are to be in place in the ‘speed track’ of the Low Road/Grand Street as early as next year.

It is not yet known what measures will be in place but it is expected that at least two ramps will be erected.

Mrs Palmer said one woman whose wall and fence were knocked down, some years ago after a motorcyclist was killed at a dangerous sweeping bend in the area, contacted her welcoming the scheme.

Mrs Palmer said this same woman is too scared to drive out of her home for fear of an accident due to speeding traffic at a sweeping bend at her home.

“We have not seen the work schedule but it is believed we will be shown it in due course,” she said. “When Transport NI came down they agreed that the area was a speedway and they needed to do something.

“The work we believe will include two ramps which will hopefully be enough to slow down traffic. Some motorists may not like it but at least it will keep motorists and pedestrians safe which is what we need.

“A boy was killed some years ago on a motor bike on this stretch. It is not clear what happened but the accident showed that something needed to be done urgently and last year I remember of at least two occasions, there were major accidents on this road where two ambulances were requested near the blind bend.”

“It is not only the speed of traffic but it’s the volume of traffic here as well,” she continued.

She said speeding traffic worsened when the Low Road was resurfaced which meant the road was both smooth and fast.

“Some motorists use here to avoid the Belfast Road but the majority of people who use the road live here,” she said. “It’s a popular road.”

Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson rsaid, “I have been making representations to Transport NI and I am pleased that they have now been riority status to a traffic calming scheme for here.”