Belfast Council is pushing Stormont to create a fully controlled traffic zone between the new University of Ulster campus and Donegall Square.
The plan emerged at a meeting of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee this week, where council officers asked elected members to note the council response to consultations by Stormont on the York Street controlled zone, created swiftly in the wake of the opening of the new University of Ulster campus.
Stormont Roads officials proposed all vehicles except buses, bicycles and blue-badge holders be prohibited from travelling along the section of York Street between Donegall Street and the Frederick Street Junction between 11am and 6pm.
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The department is also closing off access to on-street parking bays, with the exception of blue badge parking, within the zone, using planters in the short-term prior to the delivery of a bicycle lane at a later stage. A short public consultation was set up, with a deadline of October 6th.
A council report made public this week shows Belfast Council does not feel these measures go far enough, and the local authority has made a request that the control zone should be from the UU campus along the rest of in-bound York Street, as well as along the full length of Royal Avenue and Donegall Place as far as Donegall Square.
The report states: “Due to the short-time frame in bringing forward this order an opportunity has been missed to link this controlled zone up with the control zone between Donegall Place/Donegall Square North and Royal Avenue/North Street.
“It is requested that the implementation of a full control zone between Donegall Square North and Frederick Street should be considered and brought forward.
“This order will not have the desired impact without the implementation of adequate enforcement and recommend that enforcement cameras be introduced to implement the controlled zone. Belfast City Council request that DfI provide timelines and delivery mechanisms for the delivery of the cycle infrastructure or any other measures to be delivered as a part of this scheme.”
The Department for Infrastructure is currently making interim alignment works to the Frederick Street junction. The measures include, closure of the left turn slip from Frederick Street to York St and widening of the northwest footpath at the junction location, as well as widening of the Frederick Street central reservation.
This will reduce Frederick Street from four lanes eastbound and two lanes westbound to three lanes eastbound and two lanes westbound. There will also be widening of the north-east footpath, realignment of lines on Great Patrick Street and new kerbing, a new tactile paving central reservation barrier, and the introduction of cycle stop areas at the traffic lights to the junction. The overall crossing distance will be reduced by approximately one and a half metres to two metres through the realignment of lanes.
The Stormont department is also proposing an amendment to the Footway (Prohibition of Waiting) Order, and is in consultation mode. It is proposing restrictions to prohibit vehicles from waiting on a footpath adjacent to a bus stand, a cycle lane or school keep clear.
The Belfast Council report refers to this consultation, stating: “While this is a positive move it does not meet some of the issues previously raised by this council including banning on footpaths.”
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