Concerns raised over crumbling footpaths in south Tyrone villages

MID Ulster councillor Cathal Mallaghan said he fears the village of Rock could be home to “the worst footpath in Tyrone”.

The stretch of footpath that extends from Rock village to the Primary School is riddled with potholes, bumps and dips and in some cases does not have any coverage of tar.

“I have been asking Road Service officials for a number of years to include this footpath in a scheme. In fact the Department of Infrastructure has prioritised walkways, greenways blueways and promotes active travel,” said Cllr Mallaghan.

“While some people may be able to negotiate the footpath, should you be pushing a pram you would have no option but to use the road and I can’t imagine how someone with mobility issues would cope.

“While the department does not see this as being high enough up on their priorities it is important that those people who use this footpath should have a safe accessible way to do so and the department needs to revaluate what is a priority.”

The Sinn Féin councillor who is from nearby Pomeroy, has also raised concerns over street lighting.

He added, “We have a number of homes just on the edge of the village at Derryhash which benefits from its own public street lights maintained by the Department for Infrastructure. Then just a short distance from here the street lights for the village begin.

“My simple request was for both these networks to be linked up which covers 165 metres which I estimate would be two lighting columns. It certainly would not break the bank and would greatly enhance public safety. Sadly, the request has been declined. This is very unfortunate given the huge benefit it would give for a small cost.”

Similar concerns over footpaths were raised by Clogher Valley Councillor Frances Burton.

Speaking at the council’s monthly meeting on Thursday, April 28, Councillor Frances Burton told the chamber how she had been informed of a lady falling in Castlecaulfield due to a “wee problem on the street” and called on the local authority to make Roads Service aware of the issue.

“A lady was walking down the street in Castlecaulfield and tripped due to a wee problem on the street,” said Cllr Burton.

“I have also had numerous complaints from the village of Caledon where the footpath is fairly uneven and in very poor condition and I wondered if thi犀利士
s council could agree to write to the local road service letting them know about the problems the rural community are facing.

“I believe a lot of the time the footpath seems to be forgotten about in villages and I just wondered how often they are repaired or refreshed?

“We constantly get issues raised about conditions of roads and now the condition of footpaths seems to be a problem. It has got to the stage where if people are tripping it is time we flag this up so I would really appreciate if those two concerns could be raised with DfI Roads Service.”

This proposal was seconded by Torrent councillor Niamh Doris who told the chamber there is a “serious lack of communication and follow up” from Roads Service in Moygashel at present.