Parking appeal around Mournes

Parking appeal around Mournes

25 May 2022

THE emergency services have issued a joint appeal to people to park responsibly over the summer months to ensure that their respective crews can effectively respond to 999 calls.

A number of agencies including the PSNI, Ambulance Service, Coastguard, Fire and Rescue Service, RNLI, Newry, Mourne and Down Council, PSNI Air Support and the district’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership, are keen for people not to block access to Newcastle harbour and areas across the Mournes.

They are concerned that should someone require help at sea or from any arm of the emergency services, that crew vehicles must not be hindered in any way.

In the case of an emergency, they say time is of the essence and every minute counts.

In a joint appeal this week, the emergency services say their response team vehicles being slowed down by parked cars which cause an obstruction at Newcastle harbour and in the Mournes can cause a real issue. 

They say the various emergency services work together to keep people safe and to assist them it is vital that people park in allocated areas, use public transport where possible and, most importantly, keep roads clear of obstruction.

Over recent summers there has been a particular parking issue at the Bloody Bridge outside Newcastle with parked cars causing a major obstruction. There have also been parking issues at the Bryansford Road outside the resort on the approach to Tollymore forest park.

At the Bloody Bridge, which is adjacent to one of the district’s most busiest roads, part of the main route into the Mournes is used as an unofficial car park. 

It’s an issue which the authorities have failed to tackle and they are expected to come under increasing pressure to act in the wake of the concern expressed by a raft of emergency service providers.

The car park at the Bloody Bridge fills rapidly, with visitors parking on the main road and a number of them parking on part of a footpath, forcing pedestrians and young families with prams on to the main road. 

The parking also effectively reduces the main road to one lane.

Near misses are regularly reported with people taking to social media to vent their anger at drivers whom they accuse of showing a “complete disregard” for the safety of other road users.

Residents have consistently called for additional parking at the Bloody Bridge area, accusing those who used part of the main road as an unofficial car park as “thoughtless”’ while others have called for the provision of double yellow lines to discourage people from parking on the main road.

Calls have also been made for a field adjacent to the current car park to be used as an overspill facility, with some residents suggesting a park and ride facility should be available to take people from the centre of Newcastle out to the Bloody Bridge were less congestion would make the area safer for everyone.

Others point to the narrowness of the road at the Bloody Bridge car park which they say is exacerbating the problems and that a partnership approach involving a number of agencies is needed to finally address the problem.