‘Interim safety measures’ planned for A5  – Minister

INFRASTRUCTURE Minister John O’Dowd has indicated that proposals for ‘interim safety measures’ on the A5 road will be forthcoming in the next few months.

He was speaking after a joint-meeting with PSNI Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson in Belfast yesterday (Wednesday). The meeting comes in the wake of the tragic deaths of 19-year-old Jamie Moore from Omagh and 17-year-old Kamile Vaicikonyte, from Aughnacloy, on a stretch of the A5 last week.

For its part, the PSNI said that it will continue to deploy police officers and road safety vans on the A5 with a clear desire to keep all road users safe.

Mr O’Dowd is currently considering the report of the Planning Appeals Commission into the A5 Public Inquiry, which took place a year ago.

He warned that budget constraints were an important factor when planning improvements to the A5 in the interim.

“Every road death is a tragedy for the families and communities involved. Too many lives have been cut short or forever changed by serious injury as a result of collisions on roads. I extend my sincere condolences to all the families who have lost family members on all roads and on the A5,” he said.

>body2text<“In our meeting today, we discussed how my Department and the Police Service of Northern Ireland can work together to improve road safety. We are looking at further engineering measures that we can implement on the existing road to improve safety.”

>crosshead<‘exercise care’

>body2text<“As we enter the summer months, I appeal to all road users to think about their behaviour. Exercise care at all times and be mindful of other road users who may be in cars, on foot or on bicycles.

>body2text<“The harsh truth is that we all need to wise up when we are using our roads because if we don’t, the number of deaths will continue to rise.”

>body2text<Chief Superintendent, Sam Donaldson, said that the number of people losing their lives on the roads is “extremely upsetting”.

>body2text<“Recognising the Fatal Five and the consequences which careless driving can have on those affected by these deaths and injuries will enable us to reduce casualties in Northern Ireland,” he added.