‘The area will be gridlocked’

Ella O’Reilly owns the Edenmore Nursing Home near the residential Princess Gardens.

As Coleraine High School and Coleraine Inst merge in September, the worried business owner says that she fears an ambulance would have difficultly getting through the increased traffic that is expected in the area.

Later this week, MLA Claire Sugden will facilitate a meeting at Coleraine Inst to discuss traffic issues on the Castlerock Road and surrounding areas in connection with the new schooling arrangements on the west of the Bann.

The meeting, this Thursday, at 7pm, will take place in the Humphreys Hall at Coleraine Academical Institution.

Representatives from Transport NI and local schools will be in attendance.

Residents in the area have been asked to attend to put across their views.

“I have been in business here for 25 years, and I have never seen it so bad, “ Ella told The Times last week.

“When the two schools merge, I just fear it will be ten times worse.

“Between 3pm and 4pm the traffic in this area is horrendous.”

Highlighting her main concern, Ella said: “If an ambulance needed to get through to treat any of my residents, or indeed anyone else in need, I fear that there would be chaos.

“It is grid locked out there at peak times.

“We have parents picking up children, buses waiting on pupils, plus general traffic - this area is just not ready for extra traffic.

Ella went on: “I have contacted DoE asking for some kind of parking restrictions outside the property here.

“Visitors to Edenmore are aware of the traffic situation.

“They know that if they come between 3pm and 3pm they won’t get out of the property.

“The infrastructure just isn’t in place to deal with traffic from Loreto, Coleraine Inst, Coleraine College and the nearby DH Christie Primary School.”

Representatives from Transport NI will be present at the meeting this week.

However, in a statement they said: “Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy met recently with representatives of the various schools affected, along with representatives from Translink and the Education Board.

“As a result of this meeting it was agreed that there would be further discussions between the key bodies to consider the implications of the proposed mergers and potential impact to traffic flows in and around the proposed schools and how this could be minimised.”

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