‘​Are they going to wait until someone is killed?’: Fears over speeding in Newtownhamilton

Damage which was caused to a fence during an accident in Drumgormley in Newtownhamilton on Sunday.Damage which was caused to a fence during an accident in Drumgormley in Newtownhamilton on Sunday.
Damage which was caused to a fence during an accident in Drumgormley in Newtownhamilton on Sunday.
Residents in the Dungormley Estate area of Newtownhamilton have appealed for drivers to slow down.​

​It comes as they have had a number of issues with speeding and reckless driving.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One man, whose daughter was almost knocked down last week, has called for ramps to be installed in the area, but says residents have hit a brick wall with the Department for Infrastructure.

“A fortnight ago my daughter was across the road. A car just started spinning its wheels before taking off,” said Martin Connolly.

“On Sunday night past at around 8pm there was a drunk driver who hit our neighbour’s fence across the road and carried it the whole way along the footpath. Luckily the police caught the driver at the other end of the road.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“This has been going on for a while now and we’re trying to get ramps up. We’ve been trying for three years now but the Department seems to be throwing a blind eye at it.”

Martin said that local residents have met with DfI to appeal for ramps to be installed while a petition was also submitted.

However, Martin says that cost has been cited as the reason why ramps have not been installed yet.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Are they going to wait until some poor cratur is killed? It’s only a matter of time until something happens,” stated Martin.

“The police were up on Sunday night with the drunk driver and they did monitor speed a while back, but they were doing it during the day and that’s no good when it mainly happens at night.

“We need ramps to slow people down.”