UUP urges Executive trio to stamp out 'pothole plague' on East Londonderry roads

Mr Carmichael, speaking on behalf of the UUP association in East Londonderry, said there was a real need for the two Sinn Fein Ministers for Infrastructure and Finance along with the Alliance Minister for Farming to start working together effectively to rid Northern Ireland of ‘pothole plague.’

Mr Carmichael also said everyone in the community has a responsibility to keep the constituency’s roads safe.

Mr Carmichael made his appeal to coincide with the looming half term school holidays when thousands of pupils and adults will be on the move across East Londonderry and the constituency will see a large increase in the volume of traffic.

Mr Carmichael added: “If we want to develop both the tourism industry and attract inward investment into East Londonderry, then we need an effective roads network which is fit for purpose and above all, safe to drive on.

“This means practically eliminating the threats posed by the pothole plague. If these three Stormont Executive Minister truly have the interests of the Northern Ireland community at heart and want to see this Province flourish, they will work together to end the menace of the pothole plague.

“It is also vital this pothole plague is eradicated for the sake of our farming community who need safe rural roads to travel on with their agricultural machinery, especially tractors, to and from their fields and farms.”

“These three Executive Ministers need to get their collective acts in gear, too, when it comes to not just eliminating the pothole plague, but also ensuring there are effective road markings across the Province, and especially in East Londonderry.

“There are numerous roads both within the constituency and leading to the constituency where much-needed road markings are non-existent.

“Two such routes into East Londonderry are the M22/M2 and the Omagh M1. Road markings on both these routes leave a lot to be desired. This Stormont Executive trio of Ministers from Sinn Fein and Alliance need to ensure that effective road markings on all roads.”

The UUP East Londonderry association chairman also called on the community to support the “excellent advice” being provided by the police on road safety.

Mr Carmichael also stressed more work must be done by the Stormont Executive collectively to cut the carnage on Northern Ireland’s roads.

Mr Carmichael added: “Across our Province, the roads are claiming victim after victim. Such is the toll of carnage on our roads that we must not become side-tracked by any temptation to point the finger of guilt and indulge in the blame game.

“The hard fact is that the death rate on our roads is beginning to spiral out of control and it will require a collective effort by the entire community to put an effective end to this carnage. It must be a total end, not a reduction to an acceptable level of death, because all deaths on the roads can be prevented in one way or another.

“This places a moral responsibility on all of us in the East Londonderry constituency, whether driver, cyclist, motor-cyclist or pedestrian, to do all in our power to combat the carnage on our roads, and especially now that the latest school half term is looming.

“The police and other organisations have been to the fore in making appeals for people to exercise greater care on our roads. We, as a community, need to give our full support to these campaigns.

“We also applaud those schools in our constituency which have integrated road safety as part of the curriculum. Indeed, numerous youth organisations have also been instructing their members about the vital importance of care on the roads.

“And it is not just the young people who need to fully understand the dangers on the road; adults, too, need to ensure they exercise proper care when using the roads.

“We should also remember the victims’ families who are left to grieve because of the tragedies of the present carnage on our roads over the years.

“As a community, we should also not forget the families of road victims in East Londonderry over the generations who still live with the pain and memory of these terrible events.

“Whilst every death on the road is totally regrettable, we appeal to the local community to really concentrate when they are using the local roads so that East Londonderry never gains the terrible tag of the constituency of carnage" said Mr Carmichael.