Council officials welcomed the proposals
One and a half kilometres of new cycle lanes and “pedestrian improvements” in Belfast have gone to consultation.
The Stormont Department for Infrastructure has developed proposals for new pedestrian and cycle infrastructure between Ulster University and Sailortown, and this week Belfast City Council drafted its corporate response, which was approved at a City Hall committee by elected representatives.
Council officials welcomed the proposals, which it said would help a “fragmented” part of the city considered to be a “hostile environment for pedestrians and cyclists.” Officials said sporadic lighting and unoccupied spaces along the route currently “raise issues in relation to personal safety, which prevent people from taking this route.”
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The proposals aim to provide 1.5 kilometre of new “high quality active travel” infrastructure, connecting York Street Station to Ulster University and the Cathedral Quarter, via Dock Street, Corporation Street and the Dunbar Link. This route forms a key route identified within the Belfast Cycle Network.
It will involve the installation of new pedestrian and cyclist crossing points to improve accessibility and safety at Corporation Street and across the Dunbar Link. The plan is to improve connectivity to destinations including Sailortown, City Quays, the emerging residential and amenity opportunities in the Corporation Street and Tomb Street area, and the spaces involved in the “Under the Bridges” project.
Officials at Belfast Council said they support the plan. A report for the City Growth and Regeneration Committee at City Hall states: “The proposal is cognisant of the upcoming development landscape in the area, providing improved connectivity links from North Belfast, Sailortown, City Quays, the Waterfront and the City Centre for existing and future residents.
“The landscape of this area of the city is working through a period of transformation, with more than 4,000 student units having been constructed within the York Street, Great Patrick Street and Nelson Street areas since 2015, and a further pipeline of development opportunities including several residential schemes bringing forward 2,000 additional units in the near future.”
New schemes in the area include Belfast Council’s housing regeneration site at Corporation Street, which involves 280 homes, the new Corporation Street student block, involving 895 student units, 600 residential units at Clarendon Wharf, 298 residential units at 21-29 Corporation Street, 246 units residential at Exchange Street and 256 residential at City Quay’s 4.
City Hall states in its response to Stormont: “This proposal would specifically deliver on the strategic intent to support behavioural change projects that replace car journeys with walking, wheeling and cycling and the action to deliver enhanced cycling infrastructure across the city.”
It adds: “The Sailortown and Ulster University Pedestrian and Cycling Improvements proposal will help to support the (council’s) vision to fundamentally change the centre of Belfast to prioritise integrated walking, cycling and public transport. (The vision aims to) end the dominance of the car, and to remove severance and barriers to movement between the centre of Belfast and the surrounding communities to improve access for all.
“The proposal will also complement the council’s “Under the Bridges” project to address its aim to improve the connectivity links between the City Centre and City Quays/Sailortown and to provide an enhanced amenity and urban recreation space in the area under the M3 bridges.”
It adds: “The need to improve the connection between the city and the harbour area has been highlighted in previous plans… and is of increasing importance to overcome the long-standing severance to communities, (and serve) the growth in population as a result of new residential developments, educational and leisure opportunities within the area.
“There is fragmentation in the urban form, and blight, caused by large road infrastructure that generates air and noise pollution and creates a hostile environment for pedestrians and cyclists. The sporadic lighting and unoccupied spaces also raise issues in relation to personal safety, which prevents people from taking this route, despite it being a direct link to the city centre and the Sailortown and City Quays areas.”
The council has urged the Stormont Infrastructure department to engage with local communities to address the safety concerns related to the Dock Street underpass, and support the creation of a two-way cycle lane through the “Under the Bridges” site to connect Corporation Street with Donegal Quay. The council is also asking that the Department “takes cognisance of the proposed Sailortown to Titanic Quarter Bridge to ensure alignment with future active travel provision within the area.”
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