Traffic restrictions during The Irish Open

FOR safety and congestion reasons, it is necessary to have some restrictions in place to minimise disruption to pedestrians and vehicles.

The main public entrance to the event will be at the entrance to the Rathmore Golf Club car park. Spectators will be dropped off at the Dunluce Centre and at the Ballywillan Road from a number of Park and Ride sites and this will inevitably mean a large increase in pedestrian traffic utilising the Dunluce and Bushmills Roads.

Until Sunday 1st July, between 07:00hrs and 19:00hrs, the following restrictions will apply:

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* There will be no through traffic to or from Portrush, via the Bushmills Road;

* Access will be facilitated only via the Dunluce Road; and

* No roadside parking will be permitted from the Dunluce Road at its junction with Ballybogy Road to Crocknamack Road.

Timings are flexible and will be minimised whenever possible. The organiser would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience these arrangements may cause, and disruption will be kept to a minimum.

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Arrangements will be put in place to facilitate routine deliveries, utility vehicles and emergency vehicle access. Liaison will be maintained with residents in these areas to address any concerns.

During the hours of this event which, it is anticipated, will be between 06:30hrs and 19:00hrs daily, it will be necessary to implement some restrictions on roadside parking and also implement some traffic flow measures involving diversions and restrictions on through traffic.

These measures have not been taken lightly and are deemed necessary to maximise the efficiency of the road network and maintaining safety for all those attending the event and those using the road network for daily life. Considerations have been taken from a pedestrian/vehicle conflict perspective, a vehicle/pedestrian flow perspective and also a security perspective.

This is the initial plan and will be managed dynamically to minimise disruption. It is not anticipated that access to any residential or commercial property will be prevented.

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There will be a coning schedule designed to prevent bottlenecks around Bushmills Road, Causeway Street, Crocknamack Road, the A2 Coleraine Road, Ballywillan Road, and Dunluce Avenue.

Bus drop off and pick up will be created on Dunluce Avenue

Dunluce Road from junction of Kelly’s to the Ballywillan Road (570m) will have barriers on Kelly’s side only ensuring gaps are left at driveways and access.

Approximately 100m of barriers will be placed on the roadway from the eastern domestic premises boundary on the Ballywillan Road. This will allow for bus queuing and pedestrian through traffic.

Traffic restrictions:

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During the hours of the Irish Open it will be necessary to have a permanent crossing point at the entrance, which is situated on the Dunluce Road at the Rathmore Golf Club.

If traffic was permitted to travel unchecked on the Dunluce Road, there would be potential for significant disruption to vehicular traffic and the danger posed to pedestrians would be unacceptable requiring some restriction to be implemented.

During event hours there will be no regular through traffic on the Dunluce Road either toward or away from Portrush. Diversions will be signed.

Vehicular access to and from Kelly’s, Skerries, Alexander’s and any other commercial or residential property will be facilitated only from and to, the Ballybogy Road direction. There will be no pedestrian restriction other than a safety area created on the footway on the Kelly’s side of Dunluce Road.

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A number of other measures are available to be used dynamically to provide the best possible traffic flow. These are:

* Officer deployment at key junctions and pinch points

* Priority light sequencing at Garvagh Main Street

* Limit of queue implementation at Eglinton Street at the mini round-a-bout at Sandhill Drive

* Barriers to prevent circulatory right turn from Mark Street into Eglinton Street

* No right turn into Portstewart Road from Metropole.

There will be additional special additional measures to be implemented for egress on Saturday and Sunday:

Disabled users (Blue Badge)

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Each car park will have identified spaces for disabled users and park and ride buses will accommodate disabled users.

The more severely disabled will be accommodated at The Bowl car park by application only to the European Tour (tel. 0800 023 2557).