Action needed over Glascar shelter ‘before it’s too late’
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
John McCallister MLA and Councillor Elizabeth Ingram, of the UUP, supported local parents Robb Spiers and Norman Smyth as they explained their safety concerns about the current position of the bus shelter at Glascar Mill.
PARENTS of schoolchildren in the Glascar area have decided to take action "before it is too late".
It comes after they met with political representatives and representatives from DRD Roads Service and Translink in relation to their concerns over the situation of a bus shelter on the Ballinaskeagh Road.
The bus shelter, which caters for up to 20 secondary school children travelling to Banbridge or Rathfriland each morning and evening, is very close to a sharp bend in the road which parents say is "an accident waiting to happen".
One of those who raised the issue last week was Robb Spiers, whose two children use the bus stop every morning.
“The shelter is too close to the roadside and to the corner.
“The traffic comes at a terrific speed around the corner and if the road was slippy, you could only imagine what could happen.
“And in the morning there are parents' cars parked when they are leaving their children off at the bus stop and so that is a danger to the oncoming traffic also as they exit the bend in the road.
“The bus picks up the children and then it goes further up the road and turns and so the children are always in a rush in case they miss the bus as if they do miss it, they have to cross the road to get on it, which is also dangerous for them as they have to cross so close to the bend.
“It is the winter mornings that are the biggest risk as it is pitch black in the morning.
“You need to be here at that time of the morning to see the sheer volume of traffic on the road," said Mr Spiers.
Another parent shared his concern over the amount of cars coming around the sharp bend at speed.
“It is dangerous especially in the winter time when there is frost on the road and I do understand that DRD Roads Service do their best to get the road salted but there are occasions when they may have been unable to," said Norman Smyth.
“The corner is such that if a car were to slide it would go straight into the bus shelter or straight into the cars parked leaving off their children.
“We do not want to wait for an accident to happen before we do something," said Mr Smyth, whose son will be joining his daughter using the bus shelter come September.
“There are at least 20 children there in the morning. At the very least we need a bigger bus station," said Mr Smyth.
The parents would not only like to see the bus shelter moved further down the road so that it is situated on the straight part of the road but also for a lay-by to be made for parents and the bus to pull in and make their pick ups or drop-offs.
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