Belfast business leader calls for ‘pause’ to non-essential roadworks in bid to alleviate Christmas congestion

A Belfast business group has called for a pause of all non-essential roadworks to try and ease the city’s traffic troubles in the run-up to Christmas.

Belfast ONE is also pushing for more access to bus lanes for taxis and an increased number of bus services, to try and alleviate the traffic jams that have plagued the city in recent weeks.

There was disruption and delays to bus services on Thursday and Friday due to heavy congestion across the city centre and main routes in and out of it.

Belfast ONE is a business improvement district with over 700 members. It covers an area from around Belfast City Hall down to Castlecourt shopping centre.

The group is calling for an urgent meeting with Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd to discuss the traffic problems.

Retail NI and Hospitality Ulster had already called for a pause to traffic works on Friday due to similar concerns.

Mr O’Dowd has issued a range of responses to queries about traffic in recent weeks. When asked in the Assembly about long delays on weekends on the Sydenham bypass due to roadworks there, he suggested that rural people would be grateful to have a similar amount of money spent on their roads.

And at an opening event at Belfast Grand Central Station, the minister urged motorists to switch to public transport if they were frustrated by traffic delays.

Belfast ONE has made four proposals to ease traffic. They are:

• Temporary taxi access to all bus lanes throughout the day,
• Increased bus service frequency in the afternoon and evening,
• A pause on all “non-critical” road works until the new year; and
• Fuller enforcement of traffic rules at “key junctions”, including at yellow boxes.

Martina Connolly, CEO of Belfast ONE, said: “The current traffic gridlock in Belfast is unprecedented, posing a significant threat to retailers as we approach the critical Christmas shopping period.

“Travel across the city, for both residents and visitors, now takes exponentially longer than it did just months ago, and additional steps must be taken urgently to prevent further disruption.

“While last week’s announcement that some bus lanes would be available for some taxis was welcome, it has had little or no impact on the issue, with driver misery continuing.”

“We must strike a balance between preserving the long-term improvements that projects like new bus lanes bring, while also acknowledging that the simultaneous scheduling of multiple roadworks has caused widespread disruption.”

“Anecdotal evidence already suggests that some people are being deterred from visiting the city, and we must act swiftly to prevent a trickle of people avoiding Belfast from turning into a flood.”