New £340m Grand Central Station contributes to traffic congestion – O’Dowd

Belfast’s new £340 million Grand Central train station is contributing to serious traffic congestion in the city, Stormont’s infrastructure minister has said.

John O’Dowd addressed a number of questions in the meeting from MPs who complained about “traffic chaos” in the city.

The minister said his officials would review the weekend’s traffic problems to see if lessons needed to be learned.

Mr O’Dowd pointed to the new public transport hub as well as a major resurfacing project on the Sydenham bypass and suggested rural MLAs would be wondering what the town’s political representatives were complaining about.

Grand Central Station, which officially opened earlier this month, will become the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland, replacing the Europa Bus Center and the former Great Victoria Street Station.

Commissioning should take place gradually. While the buses are already in operation, train services are expected to start later this year.

During ministerial question time at Stormont, DUP MP Phillip Brett referred to “traffic chaos in our city center over the weekend”.

A major road resurfacing project began at the weekend on the Sydenham bypass in east Belfast, one of the city’s main arteries.

Mr O’Dowd said: “The traffic chaos you are talking about over the weekend is the result of a £3.2 million road improvement program being carried out in Belfast.

“I suspect people in rural Fermanagh, rural Tyrone and elsewhere are appalled that people are complaining about £3.2 million being spent in their area.”

But DUP MP Jonathan Buckley said the problems were not just caused by roadworks.

He said: “May I ask the minister to explain in detail what plans his department has to address the serious concerns about congestion?”

The minister responded: “Belfast experiences significant traffic congestion in the morning and during the evening rush hour.

“Part of this is the result of a £340m investment in a new Grand Central Station, part of it is the result of the £3.2m being spent on upgrading the Sydenham bypass.”

“The reason some of this is happening is because we are investing in our infrastructure for the economic well-being of everyone.”

He added: “I have asked my officers to closely monitor the situation in Belfast to see if there are any interim measures we can take while work progresses in and around Grand Belfast Central Station to see if whether there are changes to lighting operations or street lighting. Measures we could take would help reduce traffic in and around the city.

“I accept that there are always circumstances where public transport is not suitable, but when stuck in traffic we may need to ask ourselves the question: ‘Could we use public transport?’

“When you sit in traffic, you are the traffic.”

DUP MP David Brooks said east Belfast was particularly affected by the traffic problems, which he said were due to “poor traffic management”.

Mr O’Dowd said: “I look at your rural colleagues who are looking with envy at Belfast receiving its £3.2m road improvements and its £340m bus and train station.

“Your rural colleagues ask, ‘What are you complaining about?’

“I accept that there has been traffic congestion in Belfast city center. We are reviewing it and if there are lessons to be learned from the weekend, they will continue to be learned going forward.

“But we are renewing a main artery into Belfast. It needs to be modernized, it needs to be renewed, and that’s why we’re doing it.”

Mr Brooks said some residents in the Sydenham area felt like they were “trapped” on their streets over the weekend.