Traffic

Waste, quarrying, housing and their resulting traffic are some of the driving issues faced when it comes to the impact on roads that serve the Belfast Hills.

These roads are not built for these high levels of traffic especially vehicles carrying heavy tonneage.

The Partnership estimates that up to 700,000 tonnes of legal landfill and in the region of 150,000 tonnes of illegal waste is disposed of in the Belfast Hills every year.

A definitive figure is not ascertainable because no one except the Belfast Hills Partnership is looking into this local issue.

This amount of waste equates to an estimated 34,000 lorry journeys in the Belfast Hills every year. Alarming as it is, this figure does not take into account HGV through traffic, quarry and other commercial traffic using these narrow roads.

The Partnership is also deeply concerned that there is no overall approach to this issue with traffic impact assessed on an individual planning application basis. 

This means there is no apparent measurement of the culminative effect of multiple landfills and new housing.

That these issues do not seem to be assessed can lead to major problems especially on key roads such as the Ballycolin Road and the Glen Road.

The effect of this culminative growth of traffic has impacted on pedestrians and other road users’ safety. Many residents and visitors tell us the busy roads are too dangerous to walk.

Traffic also has an adverse affect on hedges, drains and the visual quality of the routes along the hills. This is particularly the case with attendant rubbish falling off vehicles as well as refuse which is thrown from moving cars.

The Partnership is spearheading a push towards an overall strategic approach as to how we can properly manage the Belfast Hills for business, for residents and for recreation.