Ards Peninsula Councillor Joe Boyle has written to Transport NI highlighting the concerns from local residents of additional gritting required for the Ballygalget Road Portaferry and the Inishargy Road at Kircubbin.
He said: “There have been many changes to the usage of these roads in recent years particularly to the Ballygalget Road Portaferry. This road is now servicing the needs of St. Patrick’s Chapel, St. Patrick’s Primary School (with in excess of 100 pupils and a greater number forecasted for next year)Ballygalget GAA Club, Oliver’s Close recently established housing development, additional housing close by on the Tullymally Road and a route that currently services 3 bus routes using the Tullymally / Ballygalget roads.’
“Many parents, parishioners and visitors regularly use the Ballygalget Road for faith based reasons, to drop of and collect children to the Primary School and for many regular sporting and social reasons. There is clearly a problem for road users negotiating the Ballygalget Road from both the Tullymally Road and the Cloughey Road. Both of these locations regular cause significant problems to those road users trying to negotiate as both ends of this road involve significant rising up hill entrances. Whilst there is a ‘ Grit Box ‘ provided at the Tullymally Road entrance to the Ballygalget Road it is clearly not sufficient for the needs required.
“The Inishargy Road at Kircubbin is also a route linking Kircubbin and Ballywalter that also services public transport and incorporates significant traffic flow. This is also a route that becomes very difficult to negotiate during bad weather conditions and has a regular tendency to become very dangerous to negotiate whenever other routes are quite readily acceptable to road users. It could be the case whereby the current schedule that has been in place for a prolonged period of time needs revisiting and altered to address current day needs and requirements.”
Councillor Boyle added: “I am therefore appealing for both the Ballygalget Road in Portaferry given what this road currently services, along with the Inishargy Road Kircubbin, to be included onto the gritting schedule and for a further examination of the overall schedule in the Ards Peninsula to be revisited and updated accordingly to meet the new challenges for road users, public transport and emergency services usage.”
