After many years campaigning from the Community Association, local residents and Devenish Partnership Forum, Enniskillen to put in place a safe crossing point on one of the busiest roads in Enniskillen, residents of Cornagrade have been successful in their efforts to get traffic lights erected.
The lights just below the junction with the Erne Hospital were officially switched on last Friday. They enable residents, school children and people attending the hospital to make their respective journeys safely and more promptly.
Davy Bannon, the Vice-Chair of Devenish Partnership Forum and a member of Cornagrade Community Association said he was delighted to see the traffic lights in place.
"There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get to this stage'.
Meanwhile, Jack McKinney of the Devenish Partnership Forum commented: "We need to look at other potential danger spots on the Cornagrade Road and work towards making them safer as well".
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone DUP Assembly member, Arlene Foster has welcomed the installation of traffic lights on the Cornagrade Road, Enniskillen, near the entrance to the Erne Hospital.
After last Friday's official switch-on, she met again with local residents and community representatives, among them the Devenish Partnership Forum which had pushed for the scheme and had enlisted Mrs Foster's help in doing so. Oliver Breen, its past chairman, told the 'Herald' that the Cornagrade Road was now 'an extremely dangerous outer ring road' and he added that the Partnership had been promised that a scheme for further lights at Rooney's shop would be included in next year's budget.
"Of course, there are a lot of problems on the road out to the roundabout where the schoolchildren get off the big school transport buses, and they have to run the gauntlet. But, this is a good start and I have to say that Mrs Foster's office cooperated the whole way through".
Mrs Foster told the Herald that the residents of the area wanted a safe crossing point for themselves and for their children, and she was delighted that roads Service had provided this, 'particularly at an area where the children cross to go to local schools'.
She said she had been made aware of the problems in the area, and she confirmed that her office staff had spoken with community representatives and Roads Service about a number of issues, 'most notably crossing points for pedestrians and the heavy traffic that is passing through this area on a daily basis'.
