Ballynahinch Councillor Garth Craig has welcomed the development of a possible 20 mph speed limit on the Langley Road Estate.
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DUP Ballynahinch Councillor Garth Craig has welcomed the discussion at Down District Council on the introduction of a 20 MPH zone in the Langley Estate in Ballynahinch.[/caption]
Speaking in advance of the Council meeting on Tuesday evening, he referred to the introduction of five 20 mph pilot schemes throughout Northern Ireland, one being in Ballynahinch. He said: “This letter is coming before Council on Tuesday night for comment. A similar letter is going to the PSNI and then in early September all houses in the Langley Estate will be consulted.”
Langley Residents Association has been campaigning for years to have road humps installed in order to reduce speed through the estate. Although this issue was raised at each Inter Agency meeting explained Cllr Craig, the reply from DRD was that the Langley Road estate was well down the list and no guarantees were given that anything could be done since other areas often leap-frogged to the top of the list as priorities changed.
Councillor Craig added: ” Given the uncertainty of any physical measures such as road humps being introduced to slow traffic, I am delighted that the Langley Road Estate is now being considered for the introduction of the 20mph pilot scheme. I believe this is a result of persistent lobbying and am thankful that the process has started to introduce this scheme.
“It will be up to the PSNI to ensure rigorous enforcement of the 20mph speed limit is carried out.”
In a letter in August, he explained that Transport NI has decided to run a mandatory pilot scheme across Northern Ireland. These zones will be clearly marked out  and there will be other signs within the zones reminding motorists of the speed limits. Transport NI will then monitor the road safety aspects of the pilot to determine the effectiveness of such a road traffic measure. This scheme will not include any physical changes to the traffic system such as the  introduction of road humps or rumble lines etc.
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