Proposed Cycle Lane In Ballymoney May Worsen Traffic, Says Councillor

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council members have raised concerns that a proposed cycle lane in Ballymoney may worsen existing traffic congestion.

The proposal forms part of the Active Travel Delivery Plan unveiled last November by the then Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd, which aims to introduce over 200km of high-quality active travel infrastructure across both urban and rural areas over the next decade.

The plan targets six settlements within the borough – Ballycastle, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady, Portrush, and Portstewart – with Ballymoney set to benefit from a priority cycle route along Milltown Road, running from Bann Meadows Junction to the B62 Ballymena Road Junction, as identified by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI).

At last night's Leisure and Development Committee meeting, DUP Councillor Mervyn Storey expressed his reservations about the project. “If this is the best that DfI came up with for Ballymoney they’d be better getting on their bike and keep riding,” he said. He noted that recent public realm improvements in Ballymoney town centre were intended to enhance traffic flow, but argued that the new cycle lane would instead create a “dual carriageway for bicycles” along a narrow road, thereby increasing congestion.

“Because we’ve done all this work with the public realms but this document is proposing that we have a cycle route from the bottom of the Milltown up to the roundabout at Trinity Church. If you travel into Ballymoney now from Milltown I guarantee you will sit in the traffic congestion for 10 or 15 minutes, but they’ll create a dual carriageway for bicycles along that narrow road and add to the congestion,” Councillor Storey added.

“So I am not supportive of all the active travel plans, and looking at the traffic flows is the way that we need to go.”

Director of Leisure and Development, Pat Mulvenna, stated that the council’s Coast and Countryside team is drafting an official response to the consultation and encouraged individual members to submit their own feedback as well.