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Roads: Northern Ireland

Answer

The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the noble Lord in response to this Question. Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird. You recently asked Her Majesty's Government a Parliamentary Question about whether they will take steps to improve traffic flow at peak times at the Knocknagoney roundabout in East Belfast. As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply. As you will be aware, the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan (BMTP), published in November 2004, takes forward the strategic initiatives of the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland, which was accepted by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002. The BMTP sets out transport proposals for the Belfast metropolitan area to be implemented or commenced by 2015. It also supports the development proposals contained in the draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan, which was published by the Department of the Environment in 2004. The BMTP identified a number of road improvement schemes considered necessary to remove existing bottlenecks and improve traffic flows on the road network. Although none of the improvement schemes directly affects the Tillysburn/Knocknagoney junction, there are proposals to widen the Sydenham bypass that will assist traffic flows in this area. Details of the proposals in the BMTP can be obtained from the BMTP website https://pronet.wsatkins.co.uk/bmtp/. In the more immediate future, Roads Service has approved road modifications, as part of a planning application submitted by Tesco, which will amend the A2 approach to the junction from the Holywood direction and provide additional capacity at the A2/Knocknagoney Road junction. Subject to the availability of funding, Roads Service is also considering improvements to the road layout at the A55 Outer Ring/Holywood Road junction and the lane configuration between this junction and Tillysburn, as part of our 2007-08 traffic management works programme. When completed, it is anticipated that these schemes will contribute to an improvement of traffic conditions in and around the Tillysburn junction and help reduce congestion in the area.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

1384; 689 c19WA

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Belfast Road traffic Roundabouts

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk