A government official’s suggestion that workers spend an extra week day working from home to help ease gridlock in Belfast city centre is “deeply disheartening”, an NI business leader has said.
Department for Infrastructure (DfI) deputy secretary Colin Woods made the suggestion on Monday morning during a lengthy interview with BBC NI’s The Nolan Show.
“If people would use public transport or work from home one day a week even, you would start to see significant reductions in congestion,” he said.
“We hear the frustration people are expressing.
“There is not enough space for vehicles trying to use (the roads) and we can see the impact on people’s journey times.
“The network of streets in Belfast were laid out when horses and pedestrians were the only people using them and there isn’t the space to put as many vehicles as possible.”
It follows an increasing number of traffic snarl-ups in Belfast, with accidents, road closures and work relating to the opening of the new Grand Central Station causing delays across the city centre.
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The suggestion however has been rejected by Belfast ONE Chief Executive Martina Connolly, who said encouraging people to stay away from the city centre was not the answer.
“Congestion in Belfast has been worsening for months, yet despite numerous proposals and practical recommendations submitted to DFI to improve traffic flow, only a handful have been implemented,” she said.
“The result is a city that is increasingly paralysed by gridlock, with little urgency from DFI to tackle the issue.
“It was therefore deeply disheartening to hear a senior roads official suggest this morning that the answer lies in asking people to work from home an additional day, effectively encouraging them to stay away from the city centre.
“This approach is completely at odds with the needs of our retail and hospitality sectors, particularly during a crucial trading period like December. Businesses and their employees rely on vibrant footfall to thrive.
Martina Connolly, CEO of Belfast ONE
“Instead of urgently implementing measures to ease congestion, the Department’s message seems to be that staying at home is preferable. That is simply not an option.”
Ms Connolly said she had requested a meeting with Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd in relation to the traffic congestion.
“I have written to the Minister today to request an urgent meeting to convey the damaging impact these ongoing issues could have on the city centre,” she said.
“I am also urging the Department to accelerate the implementation of the full range of short-term measures we and others have proposed. The limited measures introduced so far have proven ineffective.
“Looking ahead, it is critical that the Department learns from this and commits to consulting with key stakeholders in advance of any major roadworks to fully understand their potential impact.
“Had this been done previously, businesses would have insisted on postponing these works to the New Year, mitigating the current challenges.
“If the Department fails to act decisively now, January will see businesses grappling with the fallout of a December marred by traffic disruption, lower footfall, and poor sales figures during what should be the busiest time of year.”
Ms Connolly’s comments were echoed by Belfast Chamber of Commerce CEO Clare Guinness, who said the festive period was a “make-or-break” period for business.
“A lot of retailers, in particular, hotels and leisure operators really rely on this period, it makes their year,” she told BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd
“At a time when we need the shops to be busy, we don’t need anything that would reduce spending. So, if people are at home, they’re not spending money, they’re not buying lunch or going out for a drink.
“They’re not doing a bit of shopping so all of that will reflect negatively on businesses.
“I think someone needs to look at the scheduling and I think they need to look at practical interventions that will make a difference tomorrow.”
Earlier in the Assembly chamber, Mr O’Dowd said anyone driving into Belfast city centre should “expect congestion”.
In response to an urgent question from SDLP Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole, the Minister appealed to motorists “to consider other options they can take to avoid congestion, such as public transport, park and ride, active travel, or if possible, planning their journey to use an alternative route or avoid peak times.
“The fact remains there are too many cars and too limited a space, so therefore each of us have to make a decision in terms of how we deal with that,” he added.
“If you do travel into Belfast city centre, using a car, you should expect congestion, and that leads to congestion for other people as well.”