Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Put brakes on ‘soul destroying’ parking scandal
Cllr calls for end to commuter chaos
A COUNCILLOR is calling for action to tackle “soul destroying” commuter parking.
Christina Black said communities living along with the Westlink corridor already suffer from “air pollution, noise, unsightly walls and barriers to the city centre”.
Roads in the West Belfast district she represents are filled with cars that do not belong to locals from early morning, creating a range of issues including bin lorries being unable to access streets and cleansing teams also being unable to carry out their work.
Cllr Black said she receives daily calls from residents who have had “near misses” with vehicles or their children have due to congestion.
She told the Mirror: “Parking may seem trivial but people need to visualise this area. We live beside the Westlink, many streets are narrow, access to and from estates is already limited.
“So we are at a daily impasse, corners are blocked by cars, visibility is limited, children are trying to get to school in between cars. To add insult to injury, essential services are unable to access the area.
“This means missed bin lifts, emergency services vehicles unable to get to homes and care providers to elderly and in-need residents.
“This community may seem like a convenient car park, but it is a community who is living with the effects of an easy commute for some.”
The Sinn Fein representative is calling for a Residents’ Parking Scheme like one rolled out at Rugby Road and College Park Avenue in the Queen’s/ormeau area of the city. And Cllr Black said she and others have already canvassed opinion in the area and there is support for it.
She added: “We are asking for a fair chance. The Falls is not a car park and we want the Department for Infrastructure to apply the learning from the South Belfast scheme and be pragmatic in implementing a scheme in this area.”
Announcing the scheme in April last year, the Department said it had “created Controlled Parking zones for residents and business owners” in the area.