Traffic at a standstill on the Ravenhill Road in south Belfast (Picture by Peter Morrison)
Retail and hospitality groups in Belfast are to meet the Infrastructure Minister later in a bid to find solutions to the traffic congestion chaos in the city.
It comes as Retail NI’s chief executive Glyn Roberts said there “cannot be a repeat of what has happened these last few months”.
The retail figure said a number of groups met the minister John O’Dowd last Thursday and said today’s meeting will involve discussing a number of solutions to the traffic problems.
“We had a good face to face meeting with the minister last Thursday where we walked through some of the possible solutions, which include the turning on Grosvenor Road the enforcement of the yellow boxes, turning restrictions along Great Victoria Street and the reduction of fares,” Mr Robert’s told BBC’s Talkback.
“How many of those we will get over the line in this afternoon’s meeting I don’t know we are in the last countdown the last seven days.
“These are a vital seven days for the city centre. People forget Belfast city centre is not just another city centre, it is an regional economic driver.
“I hope at the very least we can have a solution based approach to this problem and learn the lessons of what went wrong because we cannot afford to have a repeat of what has happened these last few months.
“We have had members express problems such as their staff being late because their bus has been delayed customers not able to be getting appointments.”
Last week, Mr O’Dowd said he himself was limiting his trips into the city centre to avoid contributing to the congestion.
Mr O’Dowd had told the Assembly on Monday that anyone travelling into Belfast by car should “expect congestion”.
Business leaders also hit out at suggestions people should avoid the city centre, citing the impact it would have on trade.
News Catch Up: Monday 16th December