Conservative spokesman, Neil Wilson, has described a proposed scheme to make Belfast car free on Sundays as “anti-car and completely impractical”. The measure was suggested by Sinn Féin MLA, Máirtin Ó Muilleoir.
“Mr Ó Muilleoir certainly knows how to grab a headline, but his proposal for ‘car free Sundays’ in Belfast is nonsense, nevertheless”, Neil commented. “This is a half-baked idea, which hasn’t been thought through properly. Businesses still need to take deliveries on Sundays and they certainly do not need the disruption such a scheme would bring. How would the authorities stop people driving on the roads? If it involves a physical barrier, how much would this cost, how much police time would be required and would prosecutions be launched against drivers?”
“One of the areas which Mr Ó Muilleoir suggests for his scheme is the Newtownards Road. It would have a disruptive effect on residents there, as it would have in most residential areas of Belfast. How on earth would people get in and out of their houses? What about older or disabled people, who can’t hop on a bike? The last thing which Belfast needs is a costly Sinn Féin gimmick and another attack on motorists. ‘Car free Sundays’ is a non-starter and rather than commanding air-time and column inches, it should be binned as quickly as possible.”