Calls have been made to lower the speed limit outside Markethill High School.
TUV Councillor Keith Ratcliffe has called on the Department for Infrastructure to urgently reconsider its refusal to reduce the speed limit on the Mowhan Road in Markethill, directly outside the High School.
In a letter to Roads Service, Cllr Ratcliffe highlighted persistent concerns raised by local parents, school staff, and residents about the dangers posed by fast-moving traffic on the stretch of road used daily by pupils.
He also renewed calls for a pedestrian crossing at Markethill Primary School.
“The fact that a serious injury collision hasn’t happened yet should not be used as justification for inaction. We should not wait for a tragedy to occur before acting,” said the Cusher councillor.
“This is a heavily trafficked road outside a secondary school — it should be a basic priority to lower the speed limit and protect young pedestrians.”
Cllr Ratcliffe has urged Roads Service to carry out a fresh, site-specific assessment of the Mowhan Road, taking into account the volume of traffic, pedestrian movement, and the vulnerability of school-aged children.
He added: “I understand the Department must follow certain criteria, but there must be flexibility where common sense and public concern demand it. A community that sees pupils crossing a busy road every day at speed expects leadership and action — not just policy compliance.”
The TUV representative also raised the ongoing lack of a pedestrian crossing at Markethill Primary School, stating: “I continue to receive complaints about the absence of a safe crossing point for pupils at the primary school. In both these cases — the Mowhan Road speed limit and the lack of a crossing — the Department must put the lives of children first.”
Cllr Ratcliffe concluded by calling on the Department to respond with urgency and show a willingness to work with the community to deliver safer roads in Markethill.
