Crashes on roundabout prompt call for action

A SERIES of crashes at the Ballygawley roundabout closest to the A4 dual carriageway has prompted calls for the Department for Infrastructure to do more to address the issue. Since the roundabout opened a decade ago, vehicles coming from the direction of Dungannon have sometimes overshot the white line before stopping on the roundabout.

Official figures on the number of occasions this has happened are not available.

But one local councillor for the area says she has regularly witnessed vehicles marooned on the roundabout, especially in the early morning.

Sharon McAleer, of the SDLP, said a number of measures had been put in place to try and alleviate the problem. These included extra signage, anti-slip surfacing, and bumps to alert motorists to the approaching junction, but that the issue is persisting.

She said, “Maybe motorists are approaching the roundabout at too fast a speed. It does definitely appear to be an issue.”

The Department for Infrastructure says a review of the collision history in the area does not suggest a recurring problem. However, the Minister, Nichola Mallon, in answer to a Stormont question from the UUP’s Rosemary Barton, has said that the number and severity of collisions will continue to be monitored to determine if additional measures are required.

In her question, Rosemary Barton, who is the MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, asked whether the A4 Ballygawley Roundabout, built in 2010 is recognised as a road accident blackspot, and what measures are planned to reduce or eliminate road traffic accidents at this location.