Agenda item

The Committee was reminded that the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, at its meeting on 14th November, had agreed that a special meeting be held, to which representatives of the Department for Infrastructure, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Translink would be invited, to discuss transportation issues in the City centre, following the recent fire in Bank Buildings.

The City Regeneration and Development Lead Officer reviewed the background to those issues, following which the Chairperson welcomed the following representatives:

Department for Infrastructure

·        Mr. K. Monaghan, Divisional Roads Manager, Eastern Division;

·        Mr. C De Burca, Director of Dfi Roads Transport Projects and Business Services;

·        Mr. G. Doherty, Section Engineer, Belfast South; and

·        Mr. G. Miskimmin, Deputy Section Engineer, Belfast North

Police Service of Northern Ireland

·        Inspector David Gibson

Translink

·        Mr. C. Conway, Chief Executive; and

·        Mr. D. Bannon, Belfast Area Manager.

Mr. Bannon informed the Committee that, as a consequence of the Bank Buildings fire, Translink had been required to re-route a large number of its services in and around the City centre, which had coincided with the launch of its Glider service. He reported that there were now an additional sixty vehicles per hour operating via Chichester Street, High Street and North Street and that, whilst that diversionary route was working well, in terms of delivering passengers close to, for example, Castle Court, Translink now needed to plan for service provision in the medium to long term, given that Royal Avenue was unlikely to open to traffic until April at the earliest. He then referred to the funding which had been secured from the Department for Infrastructure to deliver a high impact festive travel campaign and confirmed that, since its launch, there had been a welcome increase in passenger numbers travelling into the City centre.

            Mr. Conway reported that, whilst passengers were now becoming accustomed to the new routes and temporary stops, there were still some issues to be addressed, such as adjustments to timetables. He reiterated the point which had been made by Mr. Bannon around the need for Royal Avenue to be re-opened to traffic as a matter of urgency and confirmed that in the longer term, Translink would, if Castle Street were to be closed for an extended period, be required to identify other routes in which to leave the City.

Mr. Monaghan confirmed that the Department for Infrastructure had, in the immediate aftermath of the Bank Buildings fire, worked with other agencies and businesses to develop an access and loading plan for the City centre. He reported that, whilst the plan was working well in the main, there were some issues, particularly around Bank Square and Castle Street, which officers from a number of agencies were working to address. He confirmed that the imminent opening of the Primark store in Commonwealth House and increased conservation-led activity around the Bank Buildings would place additional demands on the plan and that the Department for Infrastructure would be working to meet the various needs of all stakeholders. He concluded by outlining the arrangements which had been put in place to facilitate tour bus operators and by pointing out that Primark had now assumed, by way of consents, responsibility for the control of the area located within the security cordon.

            Inspector Gibson reminded the Committee that a significant amount of work had been undertaken by the various agencies to assist the Police Service of Northern Ireland in and around the City centre, such as the re-painting of road markings, and he thanked them for their contribution. He highlighted the fact that the Police Service had been using social media to raise awareness of the new transport routes and road safety enforcement and stated that there had not, as far as he was aware, been any major issues since the new routes had been introduced.

The Translink representatives then addressed a number of issues which had been raised by Members, particularly around congestion and air quality concerns in Chichester Street, late night services, reliability on certain routes and the need for greater communication generally.

Mr. Conway explained that additional services would be provided in the lead up to Christmas and that Metro, Goldline and rail services would be operating at weekends until midnight. He confirmed that recent delays on some routes had been a knock-on effect of collisions in other parts of the City and that every effort was made to ensure that customers were provided with up-to-date information in such circumstances and generally.

Mr. Bannon pointed out that the number of buses using Chichester Street had doubled since the Bank Buildings fire and that he had, as a precaution, requested the Council to undertake air quality monitoring in that area. He added that the new Glider buses utilised the cleanest available propulsion technology, which should improve air quality across the City in the longer term.

The representatives were thanked by the Chairperson, following which Messrs. Conway and Bannon and Inspector Gibson left the meeting.

The Committee noted the information which had been provided.