'If a policy doesn't promote the safety of our children, it isn't fit': Rural fears as MLA told danger to school pupils navigating main road in darkness irrelevant, and street lights refused
An MLA has spoken of his shock after a Stormont department refused to put a street light next to a dark and isolated countryside bus stop – because the safety of bus passengers, including schoolchildren, doesn’t count when thinking about new lights.
The body in charge of Northern Ireland’s roads, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), told Strangford’s Nick Mathison that it has several criteria for building street lights, such as whether an area has a built-up frontage.
Not up for consideration is the safety of bus users, and in particular whether they struggle with rural bus stops during winter months.
Yet that, says Mr Mathison, is the very issue at the heart of problems outside Drumaness, a countryside village in his constituency.
A bus between the village and its nearest large town, Ballynahinch, doesn't stop in the village itself but on a section of a major road, the A24, which has traffic barrelling down it from Belfast to Clough and at that spot has no street lights.
The bus takes kids to school in Ballynahinch, and is also used by commuters and shoppers – but in winter months they’re stuck trying to navigate a section of one of the province’s major roads in darkness.
Mr Mathison argues the situation poses “a clear yet avoidable risk” to those using the stops.
“Parents and residents in Drumaness are rightly worried,” he said. “These bus stops serve a large number of school pupils, many of whom are out before daylight during the darker months.
“Expecting children to cross a fast, busy road like the A24 without adequate lighting is simply not acceptable. This is a basic safety issue, and it needs to be treated with urgency.”
Yet when he contacted DfI officials, he was told the safety of children at rural bus stops isn’t part of their criteria for building street lights; when he asked if they could be a little flexible in this case, he says, they told him their criteria again.
“The DfI’s refusal to even consider the request for lighting is deeply concerning,” he told the News Letter. “It is clear to me that if a policy does not promote the safety of our children, then the policy cannot be fit for purpose.”
A spokesman for the DfI acknowledged that residents want street lights built at the bus stop near Drumaness, but insisted officials must apply the department’s policies “consistently to ensure fairness and sustainability across the entire road network”.
Said the spokesman: “In relation to safety considerations, there are no recent PSNI night-time collision statistics for this area; if this information was available, the introduction of street lighting would only be considered if no alternative road safety engineering measures are available.
“While there are no plans to change the rural street lighting policy at this time, the department is examining options to improve safety for school journeys, such as speed limit reductions, including 20mph zones in residential areas and outside schools.
“This work is evidence-led to ensure interventions are effective and proportionate. Officials are progressing at pace with the aim of bringing forward recommendations by early to mid-2026. The department remains committed to improving road safety and will continue to engage with stakeholders to deliver the most effective measures.”