Mr Robert Carmichael, the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Party Association Chairman, has said the UUP is calling on the roads service to “significantly increase” its traffic calming measures across the constituency’s villages and hamlets, especially with the caravanning season now in full swing.

Speaking on behalf of the UUP Association, Mr Carmichael added: “Over the years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of vehicles using the constituency’s roads and especially those in rural areas.

“However, while the volume of traffic has gone up, there has not been a similar increase in the constituency’s roads infrastructure to cope with this new capacity.

“Quite a number of our rural communities are located along or near a single road or street, yet many of these same routes cannot accommodate the larger, modern vehicles, especially lorries.

“This makes increased traffic calming measures for these rural villages and hamlets a vital necessity in the battle to reduce speed, injuries and fatalities on our roads.

“We want to see this figure of road deaths in the constituency reduced to zero and this is why road safety has become a priority issue for the Ulster Unionist Party, not just in East Londonderry, but right across the Province.

“In the coming weeks, we as a Party will be strongly campaigning for the roads service to review its traffic calming measures for all villages and hamlets across our constituency.

“As well as the holiday traffic likely to increase across the constituency, we must also remember that the school year is still in place and there will also be the expected massive increase in traffic with the Open golf taking place in our constituency in July.

“Likewise, given the number of new housing developments in rural regions of East Londonderry, the roads service has a moral imperative to ensure an effective roads infrastructure is put in place to keep pace with this building programme,” said Mr Carmichael.

East Londonderry UUP urges more traffic calming for villages